Darker Than Death
by Ember Ardent Flame
Summary: What if the Mew Mews lost? With all of the Mews dead, the rest of humanity struggles to survive the hostile aftermath. The Cyniclons have taken over. Humans that haven't been executed have been enslaved. Two human girls with totally different views find their fates twisted together inexplicably. Can they make it? ... Uses OCs. No new Mews. COMPLETE!
1. Lizzie and Eliza

Lizzie stared up at the shrine. The concrete statue posed for all to see; a cat girl in a frilly dress. Lizzie tucked her brown hair behind her ear as she stared up at the figure. This was the grave of Mew Ichigo. Lizzie crossed herself out of respect before lighting a candle that sat atop the statue's base. She prayed; not to Ichigo, but about her. Lizzie prayed to find the strength and the fighting spirit of the dead warrior. She would need every ounce of courage that she could get. The wind picked up and carried with it voices; voices that spoke in a foreign tongue. Lizzie's head shot up. They were here for her. She stood and ran down one of the tunnels of the catacombs. As she vanished, the light of the candle flickered out in the wind.

* * *

Eliza watched them as they took Sarah. Eliza shook her head. She had warned Sarah time and time again not to anger them. She had told the girl that her plans would amount to nothing but her death. Did Sarah listen? No. None of them ever did. Eliza had seen the start of thirteen different rebellions ever since she had been captured and forced into the System one year ago. She had also seen the end of all thirteen of these rebellions. She knew what she was talking about when she told them these things. Why did they never listen to her?

Eliza sighed. Everyone knew the story. There had been five great warriors. They were called "Tokyo Mew Mew". The Mew Mews had fought to protect the Earth from the Cyniclons. This team of teenage girls had done a surprisingly fair job of it, too. But then Deep Blue manifested into one of their allies, and it left their leader, Mew Ichigo, heartbroken. Supposedly, Mew Ichigo had loved the boy whom Deep Blue had chosen to possess. When the other Mews rushed to fight their new enemy, Mew Ichigo stood back and did nothing. When Deep Blue opened a rift in the earth that Mews Lettuce, Zakuro and Pudding fell into, Mew Ichigo did nothing but cry as her teammates met their demise. When a Cyniclon by the name of Pai had struck down Mew Mint, Mew Ichigo finally managed to stand. She walked slowly toward Deep Blue, no weapon in her hand. She stood in front of the demonic alien that had taken over her beloved's body. But Mew Ichigo knew and believed that her true love would show his face again at her words. When she said, "Aoyama-kun, I love you," Deep Blue merely raised his sword to strike her down. But the demon never finished his blow. A Cyniclon by the name of Kisshu stabbed Deep Blue in the back – both literally and figuratively – because he had fallen in love with Mew Ichigo. But when Kisshu had offered her his love, she rejected it. She picked up the sword of the fallen Deep Blue. Her last words were, "I cannot live without Aoyama-kun." And then she fell on the sword and died.

Since that day, the Cyniclons had begun to take control of Earth. Eventually, the entire planet was conquered and the first three warriors sent to conquer it were given authority over various regions of the globe. Taruto was in charge of Africa and Australia. Pai was ruler over Europe and Asia. And Kisshu was given dominion over North and South America. These three aliens were the three princes, and each of their territories was run differently. Taruto was childish and silly, making cruel laws to serve as his own means of entertainment. Pai was strict and merciless, but every law that he made was just and fair, at least in the eyes of his own race. Being human was torture in Pai's zone, as racism ran rampant there. Kisshu ruled his area with a rather light hand in comparison to the other two. Some said that because he had once loved a human, Kisshu could not lack compassion for the "lower race".

"_But those compassions didn't prevent him from enforcing the System," _Eliza thought. _"Any human thirty or over was murdered. Children as old as eleven years were also executed. The only humans allowed to live were between the ages of twelve to twenty-nine. Those were enslaved; like me. Males are forced to plant and gather crops to feed the Cyniclons. And females that are considered ugly are given to these farm-slaves as wives. But females that are thought to be beautiful…_" Eliza shivered. She was one such female. Beautiful human females were kept in a Home to be cared for until they were sold; sold to Cyniclons for whatever purpose they desired. And many had a purpose of doing the unspeakable by force.

As Eliza watched Sarah disappear in the arms of six guards, she mused that perhaps death was the better option. Such reasoning may have been part of why rebellions started. Eliza sat herself down on her trundle and wondered about the next girl who would come to fill the empty bed.

* * *

Lizzie ran until there was no place else to run. She was cornered in the catacombs; backed against a stone wall. A hand flew to the quiver of arrows over her shoulder. She prepared the shot and steadied her breathing. The Cyniclons could fly and teleport and speak in a language she did not understand. They had better hearing and better eyesight and better training. They had every advantage. But Lizzie refused to go down without a fight. She let the arrow fly. It hit one of her pursuers dead in the heart, and he collapsed to the ground. But four still remained. She nocked another arrow and aimed for another one's throat, but he saw the arrow coming and ducked out of the way. The air shivered as two of them disappeared and then reappeared beside her, grabbing her arms and wrenching her weapon away.

Lizzie kicked and bit, but she was alone and outnumbered. How stupid she had been to come to the catacombs! But she just had to see Ichigo's shrine. It was the only Mew grave in the zone, brought here because of Prince Kisshu's adoration of the cat-girl. As Lizzie struggled against her captors, she thought about how much this visit had cost her. She had been a Wild ever since the Cyniclons had taken over a little more than a year ago. Lizzie had avoided them and outmaneuvered and outsmarted them countless times. She ate rabbit in the woods, along with berries. All of those classmates that had made fun of her for archery classes and her knowledge of plants had been forced into slavery while she had run free. And now Lizzie was about to join them.

The Cyniclons assessed her; all four of them prodded and pulled and observed her. And she knew what they were doing. They were appraising her; deciding where to sell her. Lizzie knew two words of Cyncloni; "Ancht" (ugly) and "Keedeen" (pretty). She prayed that they would say, "Ancht." She promised that if they said "Ancht," she would never kill another animal as long as she lived.

The male with dark purple tresses that flowed to his waist gripped her chin and forced her to look into his eyes; his haunting orange eyes. He said, "Keedeen." The others began to whoop and holler as they pushed her along, up out of the catacombs. When they passed Ichigo's grave, Lizzie spat on it.

* * *

Eliza faced that night alone. The Home for girls had lost six of its charges today. Along with Sarah, five other members of the rebellion had been beheaded. The Home Owner had made his guards paint designs on the doorposts with blood. Swirls and dots and Cyncloni words decorated the posts of the front porch in crimson stains. And Eliza had been punished for not telling the Home Owner about her roommate's actions. Her blanket had been taken from her, so now she huddled freezing underneath the thin sheet. Punishments never wounded the girls' bodies. The Home Owner would never be so stupid as to do something that could scar his Keedeens' beauty.

* * *

Lizzie didn't sleep that night. She didn't eat either. They hadn't given her any food. The violet-haired ringleader of her captors told her why, and she was startled to hear him speak English. "We are going to break you. We get a better price for submissive ones. If you're smart, you'll give up now."

Lizzie stared back at him defiantly. "Sorry. My mother taught me perseverance."

"Yes," he replied. "And your mother is dead." Then he cackled some sort of horrid laughter that turned into coughing. Lizzie didn't care why he was coughing. She hoped he choked and died. When she closed her eyes, the memories flooded back to her.

* * *

_It was after ballet class. Lizzie had just finished a rehearsal for the big recital. She had finally made prima donna. Her parents were so proud. _

_She was walking home when she saw it; smoke. Running to see where it was coming from, she dropped the point shoes that were slung over her shoulder when she reached her destination. Flames roared up into the sky; billows and curls of smoke blocked the sunlight like an intense front of dark clouds. This was her house. And it was on fire. She screamed at the top of her lungs and dashed for the burning building before she saw them; Cyniclons that must not have heard her over the roar of the flames. They conversed in English; like no Cyniclon before or since had done until she had been captured. The first said, "That's it. The energy readings have gone dormant. There's nothing alive left in there."_

"_Good," the other replied. "Let's leave." And then they had both vanished._

_Lizzie wasted no time. She slipped into the woods that ran beside her house and scurried through them as fast as she could, rounding out to the back yard and opening the gate to free the dogs; three corgis and two border collies. She whistled for them and they followed her. She made a mad dash for the shed and grabbed some survival supplies; a bow and a quiver of arrows, a tarp, an old blanket and some rope. She slung the rope over her right shoulder, the quiver over her left, and gathered the other things in her arms as she ran away from everything that she had even known. Everything – she had to remind herself – that no longer existed. "Nana, Kipper, Molly, Beth, Pixie!" she called her dogs. She was the only mistress they had left._

_She found shelter in the forests. And thank God that people littered! She was able to find several old water bottles to carry the precious liquid that she had taken for granted before. Stretching the rope from one tree trunk to another, she built tents by draping the tarp over it and securing the edges with sticks and stones. The blanket lined the inside, and she always had her weapon close by. _

_One day, two of the corgis – Beth and Kipper – ran off into the woods with Nana, one of the border collies. They never returned. The blanket soon became moldy from all the moisture of the forest floor in spring, and Lizzie decided to leave it behind. On an especially windy night, the tarp blew away. The next night a storm rolled in, leaving Lizzie and her two remaining dogs rather drenched. But on the bright side, she had three bottles full of rain water now. She had tried building lean-tos out of wood as they traveled along to avoid any more damp days. But the shelters were semi-permanent and made it easier for Cyniclons to track her, so she had stopped making them._

_It had been two months when they came to a place where the game was scarce. Berry bushes were stripped bare in this area too. Lizzie hadn't eaten for two weeks. Focus was crucial, but it was so very difficult. She cried when she realized what she had to do. Her corgi, Pixie, looked up at her with big brown eyes that seemed to say, "I understand," as Lizzie let the arrow fly. Then she wept. She had taught Pixie how to ride a skateboard. It was her special trick. The two had had a special bond; Pixie even gave Lizzie love nips. But Pixie was a lot smaller and slower than Molly and wouldn't be of as much use out here in the woods, so all of that had to end. When Lizzie and Molly had finished eating, Lizzie burned the rest. She took the ashes and put them in one of her bottles and sat the bottle among the roots of a tree. "I'm so sorry, Pixie," she whimpered as the tears began to stream down her face again._

_But Pixie's sacrifice was not in vain. Three days later, Lizzie and Molly found the Wilds' camp. A whole group of people lived here; that was why the game was rare and the bushes were bare. The Wilds had accepted Lizzie into their populace, and had she gotten there an hour later, it would have been too late. The Wilds were moving on that very afternoon to a new place with more food. Lizzie was paired up with a guy around her age named Gabe. They were hunting partners, and with him she took down a deer. Together they outsmarted Cyniclons hunters. And Molly did a good job of catching rabbits and squirrels._

_Lizzie had been among the Wilds for six months. It was the dead of winter, but food was not a problem thanks to the stores of dried fruit and smoked meat that had been gathered and cooked during the summer. Gabe showed Lizzie how to raid a squirrel's cache of nuts. And if the squirrel got angry and came out, then it was more fresh meat. Lizzie was out with Molly doing this when it happened. A lone Cyniclon hunter appeared out of nowhere. Lizzie managed to get away only because Molly flung herself at the hunter and bit him. As she ran away, Lizzie was sure that Molly would catch up later. But she never did. When Lizzie returned to that part of the forest with Gabe a few days later, Molly's carcass lay under a thin blanket of snow. Lizzie's last dog had sacrificed herself to keep her mistress safe._

* * *

Lizzie had been through a lot. So no, she wasn't about to let some stupid Cyniclon hunter intimidate her into breaking. Lizzie would never break. Lizzie wouldn't even bend. And if they couldn't get a price for her because of that, then Lizzie would be victorious as they cut off her head. She just hoped that Gabe wouldn't worry.


	2. Bought and Sold

Eliza woke up the next morning to the sound of twittering birds. She hadn't slept much, but she knew that there were others in the world that probably hadn't slept at all. She would be grateful for what she had. Like breakfast, for instance. It may have only been a piece of toast with some butter, but it was much better than nothing. After that, she returned to her floor and showered in the community washing area. After her hair dried, she brushed it out before reapplying the blue streak of wash-out color. It was the Home's way of marking its girls. The color contrasted pleasantly with her red hair, so she didn't mind it much. Resistance was futile. She knew that. Because she had a photographic memory, she would never be able to forget.

* * *

_It was her niece's fourth birthday party. Her sister – said niece's mother – was hosting the party at her house. It was a cookout in late spring. Her father had actually made an effort to come to a family event for once, so Eliza was happy that day. Kara was turning four years old. It was a happy occasion. Kara's older siblings – Millie and William – were gorging themselves on cake. Kara's father held Kara in his arms and talked about his little "big girl". Eliza's brother, his wife, and their son, Lewis, had also showed up that day. Lewis was three and was getting into everything that he had been told not to touch. It was chaos, but Eliza was still happy. Her mother leaned on her father's shoulder and told him that she loved him, and he hugged her a little tighter._

_Eliza went inside to use the restroom. When she came out, the happy scene was gone. Her parents lay in a pool of their own blood. Her sister had been stabbed with the same knife that was used to cut the cake. Her sister-in-law lay dead at the bottom of the slide, and little Lewis lay slain at the top of the playground. Eliza's brother was on the other side by the playground stairs, always protecting Lewis and trying to make sure he never fell backwards off of the jungle gym. But now he laid face down, his body stretched over the stairs, his arms thrown forward in one last attempt at protecting his young son. William's face was planted into his portion of cake, and blood poured from his head and onto the dessert. Millie was a few feet away from the table, and Eliza guessed that she had tried to run and hadn't made it too far. But worst of all, her brother-in-law sat in a lawn chair with Kara still in his arms, the same sword running both of them through._

_Eliza blanched. She screamed. And then a Cyniclon appeared. He aimed his weapon for her, but another materialized just in time to stop him. "Janshi waata keedeen." 'She is pretty,' he had said._

* * *

And from that moment on, Eliza knew that her life balanced on a knife's edge. She must do everything she could to earn the Cyniclons' approval. It was why she discouraged rebellions. It was why she never joined them herself. It was why she had never tried to run away from the Home. It was why she was given glares by the other girls. But most importantly, it was why she was still alive.

* * *

Lizzie trudged behind her captors. They had reached a nearby town. The sun shone at its zenith in the sky, signaling high noon. Lizzie dropped her head and looked at her feet. The dirt path changed into a cracked concrete paving. The manacles on her wrists were painful. Her feet burned with the exertion. They had been walking since a little before sunrise. The Cyniclons didn't have to walk. They could have teleported. But they had walked her this far to wear her out and make her look tired. She would appear submissive from exhaustion, and they would get a good price. Lizzie spat on one of their backs; the one with flaming fuchsia hair and grey eyes. He turned his head and growled at her like some kind of dog. The purple-haired one said something in a clipped tone, and the one Lizzie would now refer to as 'Dog' backed off.

They came to an old city hall building. Around a year ago, some mayor stood on its porch and made an announcement to the townsfolk. But now it was a haggling stage; the marketplace of the System. Lizzie struggled, trying to get free. But she was so tired that she didn't have much strength in her. She was led around to the side of the building where the rusty trailer of an old semi-truck was stationed. It seemed like an odd place for a semi's trailer.

The violet-haired Cyniclon – Ringleader, Lizzie called him – waved over a Cyniclon with white hair. The two began to converse in Cyncloni. She heard Ringleader say, "keedeen," among his garble of indecipherable speech. The white-haired Cyniclon looked at Lizzie with indigo eyes. He turned back and grumbled to Ringleader. Ringleader started shouting, and one of Lizzie's other captors – the one with rust-colored hair – winced. 'Rusty' must not have liked conflict. Either that, or Ringleader was spouting off some choice expletives.

The white-haired Cyniclon made a gesture with his hands before holding out his right palm. Ringleader grabbed that hand with his left one and slapped it gently with his right while murmuring something. The other shook his head and overturned Ringleader's left hand with his right and slapped it with his left. He said something as well. Lizzie recognized the Cyniclons' manner of bargaining. The palm-slapping continued for several minutes; the voices of the bargainers growing progressively louder. Ringleader shouted, "TRONKA!" and slapped. The white-haired Cyniclon replied, "DOULA!" and slapped. "TRONKA!" Ringleader repeated before slapping again. "DOULA!" the white-haired Cyniclon insisted. "TRONKA DAN NIL!" Ringleader argued with a slap. The white-haired Cyniclon glanced at Lizzie before murmuring, "Doula det mische." He slapped Ringleader's hand. Ringleader nodded. He slapped again before the two shook hands like old friends and laughed. Ringleader spoke to his lackeys, and Rusty pushed Lizzie forward. The white-haired Cyniclon, whom Lizzie now called Doula, brought out a sack and counted out some coins in the Cyniclon currency. He handed them to Ringleader, and Ringleader handed him Lizzie's chains. She had just been sold.

Doula directed Lizzie to the back of the trailer. He undid her manacles before shoving her inside and slamming the door behind her. Inside the trailer, several other humans sat on the cold, metal floor. Only two of them looked up at her. Lizzie could deduce from that that only those two were fighters. Lizzie refused to sit. She stood. _"Like cows on their way to the slaughter house,"_ Lizzie concluded. Outside, someone spoke in loud Cyncloni. Then a small door at the front of the trailer opened. A Cyniclon stepped in and grabbed a young boy around thirteen or fourteen and forced him outside. The auction had begun.

* * *

Eliza went about her chores. _"Sweep the floor. Dust the furniture."_ It may not have sounded like much, but the Home was a renovated mansion. There was a lot of floor and a lot of furniture. She was sure that the Home would never sell her now. They depended on her. She did most of the cleaning, and she did her best to stop uprisings. Surely they wouldn't get rid of their most helpful charge, right? At noon she made her way downstairs to the kitchen where the girls lined up for lunch. This consisted of a vitamin tablet and a Mountain Dew. Calories, caffeine, nutrients. That was their main diet. Eliza swallowed the pill with a swig of the sweet liquid. This would sustain her until evening.

* * *

Lizzie watched the trailer empty. One by one, every human was auctioned off. She was the last one in the trailer. As the Cyniclon worker dragged her out, she was pushed onto the porch of the city hall, a sea of Cyniclons carpeting the lawn. They all stared at her as the auctioneer – who turned out to be Doula – rattled on quickly in Cyncloni. Lizzie heard the word "keedeen". She squinted her green eyes against the sunlight after being in the dark trailer for so long. The auctioneer's voice began to rattle faster as Cyniclons floated up from the ocean of bodies. Within a few minutes, only one buyer remained in the air; the rest sinking to the ground with disappointed looks on their faces. The remaining Cyniclon had blue hair and black eyes. He floated up to the stage and pulled out a brush and a tube of color. Grabbing a streak of her hair, he took the color and squeezed some onto the strand. He used the brush to spread the glob of blue all down the length of her hair. He turned and tossed a bag of coins in Doula's direction. Wrenching Lizzie to himself, he teleported.

* * *

Eliza stood up in shock as the air rippled in her dorm. The House Owner appeared with a brunette girl whom he shoved onto the bed. "This is your new roommate," he told her before leaving.

Eliza bent over to inspect the girl. She wasn't injured badly. Touching her hair, Eliza noticed that the streak of blue paint had yet to dry. This girl was a late purchase. Those always meant trouble. Eliza frowned a bit before asking, "What's your name?"

The girl looked up at her with dazzling green eyes. "I'm Elizabeth," she said.

Eliza raised her eyebrows. "But… my name is Elizabeth."

"Well then," the girl pushed herself up off of the bed, "you can call me Lizzie."

"Alright, Lizzie," she replied. "Call me Eliza."

Lizzie took in the sight of the redhead with the brown eyes that sat on the edge of the bed. This one was submissive. She could tell by the way her eyes were dulled. _"But,"_ Lizzie noticed, _"she hasn't lost her shine completely. She's still sane, anyways."_

But as Eliza looked into Lizzie's eyes, she saw a defiant fire raging there. _"This one might get all of us killed,"_ she worried.

* * *

Kisshu got into the back of the transporter. He was leaving empty handed… again. "No one at this one either, sire?" asked the driver through the window.

"No," Kisshu replied somewhat sadly. He sat on the futon and glanced at the holo-scrolls that lay scattered on the table in front of him. But he wasn't in the mood to make laws today. He stared up at the ceiling as the transporter moved forward. He sighed longingly. _"Koneko-chan… Why couldn't you love me? I gave up everything, and still you… You chose to die with him rather than be with me. Ichigo."_


	3. Night of Fear

Lizzie and Eliza lay awake in their bunks that night. Lizzie couldn't fall asleep from suspicion of the Cyniclons, and Eliza from suspicion of Lizzie. As the two girls were awake, Lizzie figured that they might as well talk. "So… Eliza, exactly how long have you been here?"

"Here as in the Home, or here as in the System?" Eliza responded.

"Both," Lizzie answered.

"I've been in this Home for almost three months. I've been in the System from its beginning," Eliza confessed. "And what about you? What's your story?"

Lizzie sighed and stared up the ceiling. "I've been a Wild ever since I came home to find my house on fire," she said. "We don't have calendars in the woods, so I'm less sure of the timing. But let's see… spring, summer, autumn, winter, and now it's spring again. So, I guess it's been about a year."

"They," Eliza corrected.

"What?" Lizzie pushed herself up on her mattress and leaned over to peer at Eliza on her trundle.

"They don't have calendars," Eliza explained. "You're not a Wild anymore, so it's best not to refer to yourself as one. That's a good way to die."

"Well…" Lizzie raised her eyebrows. "Aren't you the optimist?" she sneered.

Eliza met her eyes, and Lizzie saw something beneath the submission; something she had seen in the eyes of every single person in the Wilds' camp: The will to survive. "When you've been in as long as I have," Eliza said darkly, "you see things. You learn things. You avoid things. And you warn anybody you can because you know that the human race is depleted enough as it is."

Lizzie stared at Eliza and wondered, _"If I had been captured from the start; if I had been a prisoner for as long as she has, would I have turned out like this too?"_ Lizzie managed a grim smile because now she knew; Eliza was every bit as much a fighter as she was. The redheaded girl on the trundle only had a different strategy. "So why don't you try to get them out of here? If you want them to live so badly, why don't you get them away from these murderers?"

Eliza glared defiantly back at Lizzie. "It won't help them live. It will only hasten their deaths. If I thought it would help, I would have done it. But I've seen rebellions start, and I've seen them end. They tend to end with rolling heads and bloodied doorposts."

"Okay," Lizzie paused at the gruesome image that appeared in her mind. "But what's the point in living when they own you? What kind of life is it, being some alien's sex slave?"

Eliza winced as Lizzie asked the question for which she had never found an answer. "I don't know. But at least we're still alive."

"Are we?" Lizzie scoffed. "You have a very poor view of what constitutes 'being alive'."

"Sh!" Eliza's shrill whisper almost cut Lizzie off.

"You're the one who started this conversation, and now you're telling _me_ to shush? Uh-uh, g -"

"SHH!" Eliza hissed again, this time actually cutting Lizzie off. "Listen," she whispered quietly.

Lizzie listened, but Eliza didn't say anything. "Well," Lizzie snapped in annoyance, "speak!"

"Not to me!" Eliza whispered back.

"Why are you whispering?" Lizzie asked.

"I honestly don't know," Eliza replied in a normal tone of voice. "It's not like they can't hear us anyway."

"Who can h-?"

"Listen!" Eliza quietly hissed again.

And so, Lizzie did listen. Her time in the forest hunting animals had sharpened her senses considerably, and she was able to make out a low and barely audible hum. She suddenly felt like whispering too. "What is that?" she asked Eliza.

Eliza's reply was blood-chilling. "Buyers."

Lizzie froze. She knew from her time in the woods that Cyniclons could become invisible. She also knew that they could teleport. And she and her fellow Wilds had often had trouble determining the difference.

But now, Cyniclons hovered – invisible – in her dorm at the Home. And Lizzie wondered fearfully if this would be a nightly occurrence. "How many?" she whispered back.

Eliza frowned, not all that eager to reveal her skills to those that were causing the hum. But Lizzie actually sounded frightened, so she sighed before replying, "Two. And one is probably the Owner."

Both of them lay quietly for a while, listening to the hum that told them they were not alone. Eliza slipped her blanket over her head, and Lizzie –seeing her do this and thinking it a good idea – did the same. Eliza repeated her mantra over and over. _"I'm just as invisible to them as they are to me. I can't see their faces, and they can't see mine."_ It played like a background track in her head, and it had always been right. Never had any Buyer ever tried to look closer.

But this night was different. Something unseen ripped the blanket out of her hands and off of her face, and for all of her brave talk, Eliza couldn't help herself. She screamed. An invisible hand grabbed her chin and forced her head to turn in a certain direction. She wasn't sure whether or not she was gazing into a pair of alien eyes. For all she knew, the Cyniclon was hovering above her or kneeling next to her or else sitting on the edge of Lizzie's bed. She heard some mumbling in Cyncloni and the hum in the room decreased. And Eliza paled. She knew what it meant. The Owner had gone to process paperwork.

The hand released her chin, but the fainter hum of the room remained. He was still there. And she would be his property by morning. She struggled to breathe normally.

"Eliza?" asked Lizzie in a frantic whisper. "Are you okay? Are you… still there?"

"Yeah," Eliza managed to reply between gasps. "But only… barely."

"Barely okay? Or barely here?" Lizzie inquired.

"Both."

Lizzie wasn't sure what Eliza meant by that, but she was too afraid to ask. Outside the window, a streak of red light flashed by and a pop sound echoed into the night. "What was that?" Lizzie asked instead.

"A flare," Eliza answered, her worst fears confirmed. "They set them off when they… make a sale. Celebrating."

"That's sick," Lizzie replied, her whisper dripping with disgust.

But Eliza couldn't focus on Lizzie anymore. She strained her ears and noted the volume of the hum. It was decreasing ever so slowly. One might think it had vanished completely and all at once, signifying the Cyniclon's departure, if they hadn't been paying attention. But she knew better. She had heard rumor after rumor about Cyniclons. One had said that they mate for life and were covered with weird, tattoo-like marks as a symbol to their paired status. Another had told of their ability to steal a human's soul. Still one, the one that she now recalled, spoke of something more revealing.

This rumor said that certain Cyniclons had the ability to lower the volume of their invisibility shield's hum until it was inaudible to human ears. It was an ability the only three Cyniclons had. And there was only one of them in the Western Hemisphere. And he had killed his master.

* * *

Eliza didn't remember falling asleep, but she must have, because she had just been awoken by something. A… bright light? But when she turned her head, it was still dark outside. Then she heard the pop. Another flare. Another sale. The Home was having a busy night tonight. As she closed her eyes and tried to rest again, fear gripped her and she couldn't find sleep. Who was the other flare for? Why did this have to happen tonight? At all? Eliza didn't find sleep again that night. But it found her, and she lost herself in a world of nightmare.

* * *

There was a cake. Four candles glowed on top of it. Little Kara smiled in her daddy's arms, laughing, her blue eyes sparkling as her blonde hair swayed in the spring breeze. William stared at the cake with hungry eyes that were a deeper shade of blue than his sister's. Millie grinned, and everyone was singing. "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Kara!" But Eliza didn't hear anything other than the beating of her own heart, as a nasty sense of foreboding settled on her when her mother rested her head on her father's arm.

The world began to echo with screams; began to spatter with blood. It all happened so fast and so terribly that Eliza didn't know what to do. Something within her told her to stop it, but another part of her knew it was impossible. And then it was done. It had happened. And everyone was dead all over again.

Then that Cyniclon aimed his weapon at her, and she paled. She was sure that this time, she would die along with them. But right before the alien could kill her, another appeared in front of him. Another with green hair and golden eyes that stared back at her from the flag that flew above the Home every day. "Stop!" he yelled in English before he turned to her. Then he smirked and said, "Keedeen."

* * *

She sat up on her trundle, clutching the blanket. "No!" she shouted, breathing heavily. It had happened again, like it did every night. But this time was a little different. Normally, the black-haired Cyniclon that had really stopped her death appeared. Sometimes, it was the Owner of the Home. But this time, Prince Kisshu had been the one to save her life. It was odd, but not too odd; considering last night. There was still one thing that bothered her every night, no matter who came to save her from her death. It was the screams. That day, there must have been screams. There must have been blood-curdling, ear-piercing screams. "Why?" she asked herself for the thousandth time. "Why didn't I hear the screams?"

Lizzie was standing by the window and glanced over at Eliza. "What screams?" she asked with a quizzical expression on her face. Eliza didn't answer. She just looked at Lizzie with an expression that told of raw pain. And really, that was the only answer Lizzie needed. "Oh. Your family?"

Eliza nodded.

Lizzie nodded too. "What happened?"

Eliza shivered. "I don't want to talk about it. I relive it every night, so I try to avoid doing it during the day."

Lizzie winced. "Okay."

* * *

Eliza left the room and meandered down the hall to the shower room. As she washed her hair, she watched the blue color from her hair spiral down the drain. She noted that she probably wouldn't have to put it back in.

* * *

Back in the dorm room, Eliza slowly ran a brush through her hair, worrying. _"Who was the second flare for last night? Was I really sold? It could have been a coincidence that the flare went off at that moment." _But deep down, she knew that it was no coincidence. And her suspicions were confirmed when two Cyniclons appeared in the room; the Owner of the Home with Prince Kisshu. Eliza dropped her brush and Lizzie dropped her jaw.

Kisshu turned to Eliza, meeting her eyes in the mirror. She averted her own and turned around so that her back no longer faced him. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.

It seemed like a ridiculous question. His face was plastered on the zone's flag, after all. But Eliza only nodded and swallowed a lump in her throat, only to have another form in its place.

The prince narrowed his eyes at her approvingly. "Then you know why I am here?"

Eliza nodded again.

"Good," Kisshu nodded, turning to the Owner. "This is settled. I'll take them."

Eliza's head shot up and she stared at Lizzie, eyes wide. Lizzie stared back, shell-shocked. Had he just said, 'them'?

* * *

**Sorry for the late update. This bookworm bit off more than she could chew at the library... again. -.- But I couldn't find a parking spot today, so I didn't get any new books. This means good things for you guys now. :) Please, keep reading.**


	4. To the Palace

**Author: Thanks to SwanMew for helping me write this chapter!**

* * *

Eliza froze at his words. "Them"? So did that mean that the rumors about Cyniclons only being able to have one mate were entirely false? The House Owner vanished in order to process paperwork. And Kisshu walked over to Eliza and circled her like a shark circles its prey; like a vulture circles a rotting carcass. He examined her like this before reaching out and grabbing her wrist, pulling her closer to him. He grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his eyes.

"You look so much like her," he cooed, "it's almost uncanny." Then his voice hardened along with his eyes. "You're mine." He released her chin and Eliza immediately dropped her gaze. Kisshu turned to Lizzie, still holding Eliza's wrist. "And _you_ are going to keep her company whenever I'm too busy for her." He frowned before adding, "I'll finally have a complaint about my job."

Still clutching Eliza's wrist, the prince walked across the room toward Lizzie, dragging Eliza behind him. He reached out his hand to the brunette. Her first instinct was to slap it, but she thought better of it, figuring that he could grab her and hold her if her hand even neared his at all, no matter for how short a time. Cyniclons were like that; tricksters, every one of them. So instead, she stepped backward and pressed herself against the wall, giving him a defiant glare. Lizzie could almost feel the bow in her hand, the quiver on her back, and the elation that would come from hurting these tyrants as much as they had hurt her. The whole sector would mourn the death of their prince. But a pleading stare from Eliza snapped her out of her fantasy. Lizzie pondered what would happen to Eliza if she fought, and she didn't like the answer. So, stiffly, she stretched out a hand and stared – smoldering – at the floor in front of her feet.

Kisshu took the outstretched hand before teleporting them to the ground outside next to the largest transporter that Eliza had ever seen. Transporters were the Cyniclons' way of traveling when they weren't sure how many times they would need to teleport. As teleportation required vast amounts of energy, transporter vehicles were a good substitute if they thought they might have to make multiple stops. And this one was luxurious.

Like all transporters, it resembled a stagecoach, made of dark wood, or at least something that resembled it. But unlike a stagecoach, it had no wheels or horses. It moved by hovering above the ground at incredible heights, lifted up by some sort of alien technology that humans could never hope to understand. The roof of every stagecoach was covered in solar panels that powered the vehicle's thrust and propulsion systems.

But this was no ordinary transporter. While most were small and could only hold about four passengers, this one stretched as long as a limousine, and quite possibly longer. Who knew how many people it could hold? And the outside was not only carved with elaborate decorations, but some of the carvings were gilded and gleamed golden in the morning sunlight.

Another Cyniclon appeared and said something to Kisshu in Cyncloni while holding up a holo-scroll. Kisshu nodded and replied before teleporting into the transporter, taking the girls with him.

The inside of the transporter was just as luxurious as the outside. The seats were covered in red velvet, and the floor was carpeted with a plush, green rug. The interior wood was also decorated with gilded carvings. The extravagance was both amazing and sickening, and Eliza felt her stomach turn as the vehicle gained altitude. But the height was not the cause of her nausea; rather, it was what she knew to be her future. She glanced at Lizzie trying to determine her fellow's thought from her facial expression. It wasn't a difficult task.

Lizzie sat in the seat; back ramrod straight, her eyes fixed on the window. The misty clouds flying past the transporter obscured her view of the ground below. Her attention was not on the scenery. Out of the corner of her eye, Lizzie was watching the prince lounge on the velvety bench opposite her and Eliza. He sat right in the middle, propping his feet up on the bench across from him, separating Lizzie from the other girl. She frowned. Although her fate seemed far better than any for which she could have hoped at the Home, she didn't trust the prince for a moment. She shifted her gaze to Eliza, wondering how the girl was holding up.

Eliza was staring absent-mindedly at the floor of the transporter, lost in thought and denial. _"I did what they wanted. I was a good girl. I don't deserve this. Surely, this must be a mistake." _But the depth of her soul knew that it wasn't, and that caused her stomach to churn even more. No. The optimism was a luxury she could not afford, regardless of what treasures with which she would now be spending the rest of her days. She could tell from the position of the windows that they were in the back of the transporter. This compartment was so small that there must indeed be more to the vehicle than it, but she saw no doors leading to whatever other areas might exist. There weren't even any doors that led outside. She wondered briefly how the Cyniclons accessed the other part of the vehicle, before remembering that they teleport. And she mused that there was no way for her to get out of here without breaking glass. This epiphany of her own weakness startled her. The Home was a renovated, human-made mansion. It had doors that allowed travel from one room to another, so she had never felt like she was completely trapped; never felt like it was a prison. But this vehicle was absolutely claustrophobic, regardless of its large size. Although Eliza knew that she would never have the courage to leave anyways, it was one thing to know that you _wouldn't_ leave. It was another entirely to know that there was no way you could.

Lizzie sat on the other end of the bench seat, Kisshu's feet propped up between them. Eliza could feel his eye on her, and it unnerved her even more. Her stomach twisted again. She wondered if she would have vomited by now had she eaten breakfast. He scooted a little to his right, closer to her. Her pulse pounded in her ears, the flight or fight response kicking in. And Eliza was neither strong enough to fight nor fast enough to run, even if there had been room to do either. The stress was overpowering. And then… the world went black.

Lizzie had been staring at the rug, trying to process the events of the past twenty-four hours, when she heard a small noise on her left from Eliza. She lifted her head just in time to see Eliza slipping to the floor in a dead faint. "Eliza!" She jumped up to stop her fall…

And was thrown back into the wall by an exceedingly pale hand. Gold eyes pierced through her as he spoke. "She will learn to get her comfort from me. You are only needed when I am not around. Understand?"

Lizzie glared at him as he picked up Eliza and cradled her in his alien arms as if he actually cared. This made her mad. How dare he suggest that he could be a comfort to her? Was he not the reason she had passed out in the first place? Lizzie crossed her arms over her chest and returned to her seat, staring out the window, smoldering. Her green eyes were flecked with blue sparks of ire.

Suddenly, a voice came from nowhere, speaking in Cyncloni and startling her. Kisshu nodded and turned to Lizzie to translate. "We will be entering the wormhole soon."

"_Wormhole?"_ Lizzie continued to stare out the window. The delicate swirl of clouds became a white blur, and then turned grey. The force of the sudden acceleration pinned her against the seat, and it seemed as if her stomach were left behind. Kisshu floated up gently, adjusting his levitation so that he and Eliza were unaffected by the force of the wormhole. Lizzie was a little offended that he didn't do something similar for her, but he had already made it clear that she wasn't really needed. The speed made her woozy, and she shut her eyes to avoid the dizziness that was caused by zipping past the clouds at such a velocity. She was on the verge of passing out herself, when suddenly the vehicle slowed. The slowing of the transporter was just as sudden as the acceleration had been, and she found herself thrown into the bench opposite of her. _"Stupid Cyniclons don't even know how to make seat-belts…"_ But as she straightened up and looked out the window, what she saw coming into view below the clouds momentarily distracted her from her anger.

It was night in the capitol, as the fracture created in the space-time continuum by the wormhole had thrown them about eleven hours into the future. A sea of blue, twinkling lights met her gaze, as if the lights from a thousand stars reflected off the windows of the capitol buildings. Every building was different, but somehow they blended together in an uncanny harmony. One building they passed had four stories; it was a solid white cube with twenty windows on each side, but not a door in sight. The building hovered above the ground, propelled by a force that Lizzie couldn't see. Another building was not unlike a skyscraper; black steel beams and windowed walls of glass that were rooted firmly into the ground rose up to such a height that the floors couldn't be counted in the time it took for them to pass the edifice. Yet another building seemed to be made of grey concrete, shaped like a small, single-story dome. This building floated around, moving from place to place. It resembled what humans had thought a space-ship looked like before the Cyniclons invaded and they learned that the classic UFO model was inaccurate. It was like the inside of the transporter; amazing and eerie at the same time. Lizzie took in the sights with both fear and awe, and she absentmindedly wondered if the people who lived in these buildings were happy with Kisshu's presiding over them.

The transporter glided along until it reached an immense and intimidating mansion on a secluded hill that looked over the rest of the city. This building shone with golden light rather than blue, and this light bathed a large green lawn and fountained pond. The mansion was made of gleaming white marble. Pillars supported a high roof and added to the threateningly strong appearance, made even stronger by its anchoring to the ground. This place was not going to float away. The building had six stories and its windows were framed with elaborate moldings. One exceptionally large window stood in place of a door, providing a view of the fountain. The transporter stopped between the window and the pond, hovering above a small expanse of sandy cobblestones.

Inside the vehicle, Kisshu still held the unconscious Eliza. He grabbed Lizzie by the wrist and teleported.

Lizzie glanced around the room. It had white marble walls and a matching floor. Pillars swirled up on either side of the room, embedded into the walls as supports. A large bed with white sheets, a lilac comforter, lavender pillows, and a purple satin canopy furnished the room. There was also a large, dark wooden wardrobe with gilded designs. Next to it sat a vanity table of similar make.

"This is your room," Kisshu said before vanishing, leaving Lizzie alone.

The first thing she did was search for a door. When she found one, she gleefully flung it open. To her disappointment, it was only a rather large bathroom. _"Well, at least there _is _a bathroom,"_ she thought as she turned on the bath water. She hadn't bathed in an actual tub in a little over a year. As a Wild, the only bathing times were when the camp found a river. And if she didn't want to be captured by Cyniclons, she had to bathe with a group. There was nothing that made a bath less desirable than having to strip down in front of a bunch of other people. And because she was always wary of Cyniclon hunters, she rarely bathed for fear that she would have to run away naked while they threw sharp objects at her.

As she sunk into the warm water, Lizzie thought that it was rather ironic. Here she could bathe without worry of harm or humiliation, and yet she would trade it all to be free again; to be foraging with Gabe. She leaned her head back into the water, and as the blue streak of the Home's ownership leaked out of her hair and swirled around her, she wondered how Gabe was doing. She wondered if he had found his little sister. She wondered if he was happy. But most of all, she wondered if he missed her.


	5. Eliza, Lizzie, Gabe

**Author: For bananas7986 (Guest) that asked if this story is based off of the Hunger Games, no, it isn't. SwanMew (my co-author and the inventor of the Wilds) has never read the Hunger Games. She hasn't seen the movie either. And we both started working on this story together before I even read the Hunger Games. (I had seen the movie, but I got sick halfway through it and barely remembered anything, as my head was spinning like a Ferris wheel.) **

**I do note the similarities and don't really care for them. But all similarities to the Hunger Games are purely coincidental. SwanMew actually does archery, so she wanted Lizzie to do archery as well. I picked the name Gabe because all of my other OC stories use names that start with J for the main male, human character and wanted to switch it up. Gabe was the first name I thought of. (Plus, SonicXMinagirl really likes it. Lol.) And the capitol city of Kisshu's sector isn't really called the "Capitol". As of yet, it has no name, and we called it the capitol simply because it is where the reigning monarch lives. Hope that cleared things up. Now, onto the story!**

* * *

A warm, moist touch on her forehead was the first thing Eliza felt upon waking. As she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the view of an extremely pale neck and a shoulder clothed in a silk garment. She stiffened as Kisshu pulled back from what she concluded was a kiss on the forehead. "Good," he smirked, "you're finally awake."

She attempted to say something in reply, but her vocal chords would not form words. Instead of waking up _from_ a nightmare, she had woken up _to_ one. She was the Prince's slave, and everyone knew his reputation. He wouldn't think twice about forcing a girl into doing something she didn't want. Indeed, he had forced Mew Ichigo to kiss him! And Kisshu either read Eliza's mind or her face, because his dipped in low, pressing an unwanted kiss onto her lips. She tried to fight her way free, but he was sitting on top of her and holding her down.

He pushed it further; his tongue licking her lips and forcing his way into her mouth. She tried to bite his tongue, but he was too fast, and he pressed further; breaking the kiss and starting a trail of them from her jawline to her collarbone. He pushed it more; burying his face into her chest. More; as he hurried to undo the buttons on her shirt. Further; forcing and pushing and not relenting until he got what he wanted, no matter he much she screamed. Sometimes her cries made him laugh.

And then it was over, and he fell asleep on the bed next to her. She lay there, quaking, clothed in nothing more than the blanket. As her new master's breathing grew deeper, Eliza found a single tear trickling down her cheek. _"I obeyed them… I did everything they asked. But it wasn't enough. They had to take the very last thing that I had, didn't they?"_ The tears came faster as she stared at the spot where the blood stained the sheets; the stain of her loss. With a trembling lip, she glanced over at him, noticing a green symbol appearing on his right shoulder. It resembled a tattoo. But what the image was, she couldn't say. It blurred in front of her as the sorrow and anger spilled out of her eyes in the form of salt water.

Because of the time-jump made in the wormhole, she felt as if she had just woken up one half-hour ago. Yet why did she feel so drained and empty? What was this exhaustion that crept up on her like a predator in the tall grass? But she daren't give in to it. She had already been ravaged by one predator tonight. Eliza would not allow another one. As she sat there, awake, the gruesome act repeated itself in her mind. And like she always did with her nightmares, she thought about what she could have done to prevent it. And when the answer was a resounding silence, she curled into a ball, burying her face into the knees that were brought up to her chest. _"I would take the chaos and confusion of the ever-changing laws of Taruto's sector over this. I would be experimented-to-death by Prince Pai's scientists if it meant being able to forget this night ever happened. I should have joined one of those thirteen rebellions, even if it meant my head would roll. That would have been better than this." _She thought of Lizzie's question: _"What kind of life is it, being some alien's sex slave?"_ And Eliza finally had an answer to the question she had asked herself so many times. _"It is a life darker than death."_

* * *

Meanwhile, Lizzie sat at the vanity table and brushed out her dark hair. When the task was finished, she turned in the chair and stared at the pillars in her room. First she counted them; twenty-four. Next, she had named them. Then she had invented personalities for them. The ones on the left were all Cyniclons, and the ones on the right were all humans. They never touched. The pillars on the left didn't waltz over to the pillars on the right and claim that their wall was better before stealing it from them. _"Which is how it should be,"_ Lizzie nodded.

She began to wonder about Eliza; where she was and what she was doing. The thought made her shudder. The way Kisshu had said, "You're mine," to Eliza back at the Home was the only clue Lizzie needed. But it wasn't the only one she had. She didn't want to think about that, though. So, she busied herself with plans for escape.

As both her body and mind were still wide awake, regardless of the darkness outside, she searched every part of her marble cage. Every inch came under intense scrutiny. First, she searched for windows. There were none, and she determined that she must be in a room that wasn't near the outside of the palace. Walls were tapped thoroughly, and found solid. The wardrobe was explored intensely, as if she were searching for some magical Narnia to put an end to her troubles. When that search was fruitless, she tapped and explored the toilet. The plumbing was barely large enough for a rat to fit through, much less a human being, but Lizzie was getting desperate, and she tried to same actions with the tub and sink. Still lacking results, she took another bath to cleanse herself of toilet germs.

When she exited the bathroom, Lizzie began opening the various drawers of the vanity table and sifting through their sparse contents, searching for some sort of lever or button that would trigger a secret passage. It was then that she noticed a shadow falling on the top of the table. She looked up at the ceiling and noticed something that she hadn't before; the entire ceiling was a glass skylight. The panes were made of various colors and were separated by wrought iron swirls; at first Lizzie had thought it to be some sort of strange mosaic. But now she saw it for what it was; her salvation. That was, until she noticed the cause of that shadow. A Cyniclon guard hovered above the glass. And then she noticed others. They were guarding her room? _"Of course they're guarding it, dummy! You're their prisoner, remember?"_

This last thought sent her into a furious rage. She screamed and kicked the leg of the vanity table. When this only resulted in a painfully throbbing foot, she screeched again and ran over to her bed. There, she tore off the blankets and sheets and pillows. The pillows she picked up and began to kick across the room, pretending each was an alien face and shouting things like, "Curse that wretched prince!" and, "I hate you stupid Cyniclons!" and, "YOU MURDERERS KILLED MY MOMMY!"

The last utterance brought Lizzie to her knees in the pile of bed linens. She remembered. Her mom was off work that day; the day of the fire. Lizzie trembled, collapsing to her side and curling into a ball. Her mother was baked alive in that hell. The Cyniclons had set the inferno with intent to kill, and Lizzie knew that if her mother had survived, she would have met up with her in the woods by now. The brunette girl began to shake with sobs. She had inherited her mother's beautiful green eyes; eyes that haunted her whenever she looked upon any reflective surface. These were the eyes that now leaked tears. These were the eyes that she would never see again, and yet would have to see every day. And Lizzie wept and screamed and moaned and cried. She had never let herself think about this before. She had always been too busy trying to survive. There had always been food to find or water to purify or hunters to avoid. There had always been clothes to make or tents to mend or medicinal herbs to gather. But now there was nothing; nothing but the marble cage with the tantalizing and teasing glass roof. It was cruel; she could see the outside world, but never touch it. She could see her mother's eyes, but never again feel her warm arms.

Lizzie lay on the floor, tangled in the things she had stripped off the bed. And Eliza? Lizzie nearly gagged with the thought that Eliza had probably been stripped off too. As she lay among the silk and the satin, Lizzie knew that she would trade the luxuries of this slavery for a tent in the woods and freedom. She just had to find a way to get them out of here. But she had passed the night with neither food nor sleep, and had spent entirely too much energy searching for a way out, with neither sustenance nor success to revive her weary…everything. And as the sun began to creep over the horizon, Lizzie fell into the grip of exhaustion.

* * *

Gabe marched through the trees. It was a stupid risk, but he just had to know what happened to her. He was the top tracker in their camp, so he was sure he could find her. But he knew that he wasn't only tracking; he was also being tracked. Slipping behind a huge oak, he peered into the open meadow to check and see if the coast was clear. But he knew that his enemy could be invisible, so he took precautionary measures just in case. He turned away from the tree and back the way he had come before whirling around and dashing like a madman for the entrance of the catacombs. It was kind of like how he used to play basketball; fake left, then go right. He ducked into the unnatural cave, pulling out an old keychain with an LED flashlight on it. All of the camp's other flashlights had died, but watch batteries lasted forever. He grinned as he came to a stop at Mew Ichigo's shrine. The candle had been burned recently. She had made it this far. He wasn't just tracking a dream.

But the smile slipped from his visage as he stared at the floor. Muddy footprints led down a path, going deeper into the bowels of the catacombs. Due to the dampness of the spring ground, it was so easy to leave tracks in a place that one thought was too dark for the enemy to see. But Gabe knew that there was nothing too dark for Cyniclons. He shuddered at the year-old memory. He could still hear his sister's screams. He hated that sound more than anything. And he followed the footprints.

Some ways down the tunnel, he found a dead body. It was a Cyniclon with an arrow protruding from his chest. Gabe kicked it to make sure it was dead. Lizzie got lucky… Or did she? A few feet away, another arrow lay discarded on the stone floor. Gabe stared at it intensely, willing it to tell him what had happened here. But the object remained silent, so he pressed onward. He came to a dead end. And here the footprints scuffled along the floor, showing signs of a struggle. And that's when he heard the laugh.

Gabe wasn't like most Wilds. He understood Cyncloni. He had been captured many times in his day, but farms were very easy to escape from. He never stayed longer than two days. Still, he had always been good with foreign languages. And he had picked up quite a bit of the Cyniclons' native tongue. So he understood the voices that came at him now.

"Two in three days," the first said. "I hope this keeps up."

"Male. Disappointing," the second said.

The first responded, "It's true you don't get as much for them. But it's still something."

"Where's Lizzie?" Gabe demanded in Cyncloni.

The brightly hued eyes that glowed in the darkness seemed to alight with surprise. "Talks. Ours," the second voice said.

"Yes," the first said, sounding intrigued. "Was that your pretty one we sold the day before yesterday?"

Gabe growled, "I'll make you pay for this." He drew a knife from the sheath on his belt.

The voice laughed. "No," it corrected patronizingly, "they will pay for you." And then he lunged into the beam of Gabe's flashlight keychain. Gabe backed up only slightly, and the Cyniclon with the violet hair missed his mark. But Gabe didn't miss his. The knife rammed through the hunter's temple, and red blood poured to the ground. Gabe found it ironic that two creatures so different could have blood of the same color. The slave catcher collapsed into death.

Gabe pulled his knife out and shone the flashlight into the next one's eyes, temporarily blinding him. Then he tackled him and stabbed him in the chest; once, twice, and three times. Two more were hidden among the darkness, and Gabe knew it. He rushed back toward the shrine, but he didn't make it. One of the others blocked his path. He sliced that one on the arm, which distracted it enough for him to stab it in the throat. His victim's fingers curled around the knife hilt as Gabe watched him fall to the ground. Two feet away lay Lizzie's arrow, the remains of a missed shot. Gabe lunged and grabbed it, curling his fingers around the feathered tip as a hand snatched his ankle and pulled him backward. Gabe waited until the Cyniclon had him thrown over his shoulder before stabbing the arrow through the hunter's heart from the back. As the last Cyniclon collapsed to the ground with Gabe, the human teenager picked himself up off of the corpse.

When Gabe exited the caves, he took a deep breath of the fresh air and squinted against the morning brightness. Hunting parties each had their own domain, and he was confident that he had finished this group off. He turned to look behind him, and his golden hair shone in the sunlight that hit his back. He grinned to himself. _"How appropriate that they died in the place where we buried our dead; the place where we buried the family members that they killed. They lie only yards away from the grave of the warrior lady that fought to defend us so long ago. All Cyniclons should die in catacombs. Let them die how we died." _Gabe turned back around, and he raised his blue eyes to the sky. "I'm coming for you, Lizzie."


	6. A Makeover and A Reunion

There was a cake. Eliza found herself pressed down into it as Kisshu violated her on the picnic table, her parents looking on in horror. "Keedeen," he moaned.

And then Millie screamed and pointed to the sky. Eight Cyniclons appeared out of nowhere and began to slaughter Eliza's family as their prince slaughtered her purity. Then they came with knives toward Eliza while Kisshu dismounted her. "Not this one," the green-haired prince told them. "She's mine."

* * *

Eliza woke up screaming. The first thing she saw was a red stain on a white comforter. She started crying as the memory of the night before flooded into her. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and looked over to where Prince Kisshu was rapidly changing clothes. Despite her having seen everything there was to see the night previous, she averted her eyes. Her cheeks flushed crimson with the stain of her shame, much like the blanket. Some irrational part of herself now cared for the pervert. But the part or herself that wanted to see him die was a much larger fraction of her soul.

She jumped a little when a pink negligee landed on the bed. It was followed by a pair of black cat ears and a matching tail. She heard Kisshu mumble, "Have that on by the time I return. I won't be back until evening." And so saying, he teleported away.

"_So… he's using me as a replacement for Mew Ichigo. Not only has he violated me, but he's pretended that I'm someone else!"_ Angrily, Eliza swatted the cat ears across the room. They landed on the floor silently, and she stared at them blankly. She then sighed and looked at her lap sadly.

It was then that the air rippled, and Eliza jumped and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself. It was foolish of her to assume that she had woken in the morning. What if Kisshu was back already? It had been less than a minute, but she wouldn't put it past him, given his reputation.

Eliza breathed a sigh of relief when a female Cyniclon appeared instead. The new alien introduced herself, "I am Ryss. I was sent to make you into a princess." Ryss' voice was cold and echoed off the stone walls. She had long, purple hair and matching eyes. The tattoo-like marks that swirled around on her arms and midriff were of the same color. She was wearing clothing that appeared to be made from silk scarves of various blues and greens. When Eliza only stared back at her, Ryss frowned. "What are you doing? Get up." When Ryss blinked, another purple design could be seen on her left eyelid.

"I- I'm naked," Eliza stuttered out.

Ryss crossed her arms, clearly not impressed. "You don't think I know that? I'm here to give you a makeover and clothing. You're supposed to be naked."

Eliza raised her eyebrows. Back when the humans had still ruled Earth, Eliza had gotten makeovers with her friends. There had most certainly been no nudity involved then.

"Let's go!" Ryss demanded as she crossed the room and tore the blanket off of both the bed and Eliza. The costume that had sat on top of the blanket also fell to the floor. Ryss gripped Eliza's wrist and teleported her away to a room lined with mirrors.

Eliza spent the next hours being conformed to Cynclonian standards of beauty. She was worried that they were going to surgically alter her ears or dye her hair pink or something ridiculous. One of Ryss' human assistants assured her, "We won't do things like that. His Majesty very much likes the fact that you are human. We won't do anything that will make you appear like anything other than a human because of that." Eliza was only slightly relieved.

They removed all of the hair on her body with some weird alien technology. It felt like getting tiny, electric shocks all over her skin. The shocks weren't big enough to be painful; they actually felt kind of nice. Ryss and her helpers smoothed Eliza's arms, legs, and yes, even _there_. (Ryss made some sort of comment about the "disgusting places that humans have hair".) Then they shaped her eyebrows.

After that was finished, she was bathed in a luxurious and bubble-filled tub while they scrubbed her from head to toe. Upon finishing, they rinsed her off and dried her.

She had very much enjoyed her makeover until one of the assistants handed Ryss a strange tool. It looked not unlike a pen; but when it touched her skin on the right shoulder, Eliza felt like her arm was on fire. She screamed as her skin burned in agony, but the other servants held her down and prevented her from moving. When it ended, Ryss put some sort of balm on it and the area instantly felt better.

After calming down, Eliza looked at her right shoulder in the mirror. A Cyncloni symbol met her eyes. "What is that?" she asked.

"It's your mate mark," Ryss answered. "To our kind, they occur naturally. But humans have to get them embedded."

Eliza frowned. "What does it do?"

Ryss sighed in frustration. "It lets others know that you are not available as a mate. His Majesty requested that you have yours done to match his own."

Eliza almost cried at those words as she continued to stare at the ink on her arm; it was the same color as her hair. "What does it say?" she asked in a trembling voice.

Ryss looked up at her tone. It was really the first time she had seen the human girl for what she was; a creature with emotions not unlike those of a Cyniclon. And Ryss could almost feel sympathy for the girl as she answered her one last time. "Lust." Then Ryss injected something into Eliza's wrist, and the human girl collapsed to the floor.

* * *

When Eliza awoke, she found that she lying on a table while the hands of human servant girls massaged perfumed oils into her back, legs, and arms. She inhaled deeply and let out a sigh of relief. _"No wonder I fell asleep. If this is what they were doing, no wonder I was so relaxed. Actually, when you consider the sleepless night I had, it's a miracle I didn't fall asleep sooner."_ That's when she noticed the strange feeling on her upper eyelids.

Ryss strode briskly into the room, her silk clothing fluttering as she walked. "That's enough, girls. She's awake now. Come your Highness, take a look at yourself."

Eliza got up off of the table and went to look in the mirror. Above her eyes, right below her eyebrows, were embedded sixteen tiny diamonds; eight above each eye. They sparkled brilliantly. "What the heck?" Eliza asked in confusion.

"They're the newest style, thanks to me," Ryss laughed. "You're welcome. I had to get him to look at your eyes somehow."

"How…?" Eliza trailed off.

"Surgery," Ryss replied. "Sorry about having to knock you out your Highness, but after that ordeal I figured you should wake up to something pleasant. So I set the girls upon you."

"Shouldn't it be swollen?" Eliza touched her left eyelid. It was the only question she had right now; regardless of the title Ryss had been calling her since she awoke. Eliza's mother had been a nurse, so Eliza was pretty sure that she knew when things should be swollen. And this seemed like one of those times.

Ryss frowned and looked insulted. "No. We have a salve that takes care of that. It's the same stuff that I put on your arm."

Eliza glanced down to her 'mate mark' quickly before returning her gaze to the mirror. She touched one of the diamonds. "I guess it's pretty; it's certainly different."

Ryss gave a sly smile. "Come now, your Highness. We must see to your wardrobe." Eliza followed Ryss through an archway and into another room. Against the left wall of this room, there sat a divider made of floor-length mirrors, with a pedestal on which to stand. The right wall and back wall were lined with huge, ivory colored doors. Ryss walked over to a set of doors on the back wall and flung them open. Eliza gasped. There were six rods placed from the bottom of the closet to the top, and on every rod hung various garments of Cyniclon fashion. "Alright, your Highness," Ryss said tersely, "let's get you some clothes on." Eliza blushed. She had almost forgotten that she was naked. The human girl was also nervous that she wouldn't look nice in those alien clothes.

Ryss dug around and pulled out several outfits, all of which bared the midriff. One was made of deep purple satin-like material. Its top was like a ribbon that wrapped around the body upper body; two cups were stitched to support the breasts and purple satin ribbons extended from their tops and bottoms as straps and décor. The skirt of the ensemble was very tight and short in the front, coming only one-quarter of the way down her thigh. But in the back there was a loose, purple satin train that flowed to the floor. Looking at the exposing outfit, Eliza thought that she preferred the nightgown that Kisshu had left out for her. It was sad that the lingerie was more modest.

Another outfit that Ryss found was aquamarine silk. The top was strapless and didn't even have a place for the breasts. It was basically a band that wrapped around her bosom with two little silk ribbons that flowed out from under each of her armpits. The skirt billowed and flowed all around her; stopping three-quarters down her thighs in the front and sloping to mid-calf in the back.

One outfit was a lime green mini-dress with a hole that exposed her stomach. Another was basically a red bikini. One more was hot pink with a cupped-bandeau top and a pleated mini-skirt made of cotton; both of which had tulle accents in a lighter shade of pink. All of the outfits made Eliza's head spin; or maybe that was the anesthesia from earlier wearing off.

When Eliza inquired about shoes, Ryss scoffed and looked at her with disgust. "_Your Highness_, females do not degrade their feet by confining them into such bindings. We do not battle like males do; there is nothing from which we must protect our feet."

"Not even from rocks or broken glass that may be on the street while you walk?" Eliza raised her eyebrows incredulously.

Ryss laughed. "You make it sound as if we walk often." The female Cyniclon stopped upon remembering that the human lacked the ability to hover about or teleport as she could. She glanced at the girl's bare feet. "I suppose this creates a problem for you, doesn't it?"

"I – yes," Eliza stuttered, blushing. She didn't want to impose and demand shoes or anything. It made her sound spoiled. And Eliza knew that even though she was being treated like a princess, she was still a slave.

Ryss shrugged. "It's not like you'll be leaving the palace often, your Highness. And when you do, his Majesty will escort you. You shouldn't be concerned about this."

Eliza cast her eyes to the floor. This answer was worse than feeling like she had imposed. She began to feel light-headed like she had in the transporter.

Ryss gently grabbed Eliza's arm. "We have everything settled now dear. You can return to your room." And with that, Ryss teleported back to Kisshu's room, leaving Eliza there. Eliza noticed that someone had changed the bedding to a red blanket instead of a white one, and the costume again lay at the foot of the bed.

* * *

Lizzie awoke to a pink ray of sunlight beaming down through a piece of colored glass and into her face. She squinted against the harsh light. How dare this stupid sunbeam wake her? She had been having a pleasant dream for once. In her dream, she had been gathering acorns with Gabe while Nana, Kipper, and Beth danced at her feet. And then, she had heard her father's voice drift through the trees and call out to her. Lizzie was so happy. And then she had to return to the misery of reality.

Lizzie looked around at her nest of blankets and felt the stiff soreness that radiated through her muscles. She regretted sleeping on the floor. Walking over to the vanity table, she brushed smooth her wild bed head. _"Or more appropriately, floor head,"_ she corrected herself. She also had a headache from lying on the hard, stone floor. So, naturally, she also regretted kicking the pillows across the room instead using them for their intended purpose… _as pillows_.

When she finished brushing her hair, she looked over to see that someone had made up her bed with various orange coverlets; they had even replaced the canopy. And on the bed lay a green, cotton tunic that she guessed they expected her to wear. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She wouldn't obey them about what to wear. Her clothes were fine. And besides, she hadn't slept where they expected. Why should she dress as they expected?

So, Lizzie walked across the room and picked up the tunic, discarding it into the tangle of bed linens on the floor. She preferred her Wild clothes anyway. Gabe's grandmother – who had escaped into the Wild with him and managed to avoid being caught, as she rarely left the camp – had made both Lizzie's pants and sweater. Underneath these heavy winter clothes, she wore her ballet leotard, the very same thing she had worn home from her rehearsal that day when she arrived to find her house on fire. The pink garment was thin and ragged now, but it was the only thing she still had from her old life. She wasn't about to give it up. And how dare they expect her to do such a thing?

Lizzie resumed her antics from the night before; abusing the pillows. She screeched and squealed and screamed. She ended up kicking one of the pillows so hard against the wall that it burst into a pile of feathers. She had just kicked another pillow toward the corner of the room when a Cyniclon appeared between the pillow and its target. He got a face full of feathered cushion, and Lizzie threw her hands over her mouth, not sure whether to laugh in humor or scream in fear.

The pillow fell to the floor, and the golden-haired Cyniclon had a slightly stunned expression on his face. Lizzie smirked behind her hands. She then noticed that he was wearing a tunic not unlike the one that had been laid out for her; only his was the same color as his hair. "I am here to bring you to visit Princess Eliza," he said stoically.

Lizzie blinked. _"Did he just say, 'princess'? I thought that Kisshu was just going to abuse her or something. I didn't think that he would like… marry her."_ But Lizzie didn't know about the Cyniclons' ability to only have one mate.

The male Cyniclon came over to her, and she flinched when he put his hand on her shoulder. Then the world blurred. When it cleared again, Lizzie found herself in a very different room. While it was designed very much the same, it was furnished quite differently. The large bed was pushed against the wall, into a corner. There was a vanity table with a mirror. There was also a wardrobe. But along with those furnishings, there was also; a chest of drawers, a dresser, and a closet embedded into the wall. There was a cupboard above the head of the bed (a very strange place for such a thing in Lizzie's opinion). The ceiling wasn't made of glass in this room. The bed was covered with red blankets. And on the bed, head bent over her knees, wearing a red bikini, was Eliza.

"I'll return in one hour. His Majesty is expected to return not too long afterward. Enjoy your company, your Highness," the Cyniclon said before bowing to Eliza and teleporting, leaving Lizzie trapped in what she had a sinking feeling was the prince's bedroom.

She walked over to Eliza on the bed and sank down beside her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Eliza looked up at her, and Lizzie was shocked to see jewels embedded above her friend's eyes. She may not have known her well enough to be considered a friend, but calling her such was better than admitting her lonely, friendless state. And that was true for both girls; and so the rebel and the slave princess became a boon to each other.

"You tell me," Eliza answered Lizzie. "I've been used, forced to conform to their standards of beauty, and now sit here and wait to be used again. Does that sound okay to you?"

Lizzie shrugged sadly. "Not really."

"Then I guess I'm not," Eliza said in a small voice.

Lizzie stared at the prince's victim with sympathy. It could have so easily been her instead, and that thought forced Lizzie to give Eliza a hug. "Hey, it could be worse. We could be dead," Lizzie tried to cheer her up.

"I think I'd prefer that at this point," Eliza admitted sorrowfully.

Lizzie stiffened and backed out of the hug. "What do you mean? At the Home you told me that the human race was depleted enough as things are."

Eliza nodded, and her mind gripped onto the words she had said but a day earlier. "You're right," she smiled sadly. "It is. I'll have to remember that, and push through this. It'll be okay. I can get used to it."

Lizzie glared at the far wall. "That's not what I meant," she grumbled. "No one should have to get used to that. But… maybe we can break out of here."

Eliza stared at Lizzie incredulously. "Are you insane? Girls couldn't even break out of the Home! And this place makes escaping from there look easy. No. I'll have to get used to this; I should have fought earlier on. But I didn't. And this is my punishment for not fighting for my freedom."

Lizzie just stared at Eliza silently, trying to think of something to say to that. But she couldn't think of anything.

Eliza spoke again. "You know, they made me look pretty everywhere but my hair. Do you think you could help with that?"

Lizzie felt numbed by Eliza's truths, so she replied, "Sure," and fetched a brush from the vanity table. She braided Eliza's red hair before twirling up into a bun; it was a style she had done on herself many times before going to ballet class. As she styled Eliza's hair, neither of the girls said a word. And Lizzie didn't dare to ask about Eliza's clothes, or the negligee that lay at the foot of the bed with a set of plush cat appendages. She had heard enough for today.

* * *

Gabe woke up to the setting sun. He slept during the day and traveled at night, as hunters didn't expect the poor-sighted humans to do such a thing. He crawled down from his tree and decided to reenter the catacombs to take any weapons from the bodies of the Cyniclons he had killed the day before. He was sure he would need them on his journey.

He had retrieved an extra knife, a short sword, and what appeared to be Lizzie's bow and arrows and was walking by the shrine of Mew Ichigo. That was when he heard the noise; a light brush of a footstep against stone. Why would a Cyniclon be so sloppy? They didn't need to walk. Gabe drew his knife and walked toward the sound.

He was stopped by a trembling female voice. "Stop. I've booby-trapped my tunnel. You come any closer, and you die."

Gabe almost dropped his knife. "Chastity? Chas, is that you?"

The voice gasped. "Gabe?" The young girl stepped slowly into the beam of his keychain flashlight. "Gabe, is that really you?" The girl looked to be around thirteen years of age. Her platinum blonde hair shone like a pearl in the darkness of the cave, in the beam of Gabe's light.

"Chastity…" he trailed off, unable to believe it. Just when he had given up the search for her and began to search for someone else, here she was.

"Gabe!" she cried, her blue eyes sparkling with fresh tears. "Oh my gosh, you're alive!"

"Sis!" he ran toward her, and she toward him, and they both crashed into a hug that was a vain attempt to convey how much they had missed one another. "I thought I'd never see you again. I figured you had been captured by now." He was crying too.

"No," she told him. "I've been living here the entire time… I didn't really booby-trap the caves," she admitted, "but people often underestimate the power of a good bluff." She gave a short, bitter laugh. "_I_ thought that _you_ had been captured," she returned.

"I was," he said, "several times, in fact. But you ought to know that nothing can hold your amazing big brother." He pulled back to look her in the face, smiling, still unable to believe that she was here.

"I heard a struggle in one of the tunnels yesterday," she said worriedly. "If you had been here sooner, you might have been captured again."

He laughed at this. "Oh, there was a struggle alright. And now four hunters are dead because of it."

"You! – You killed them?" she sounded surprised.

"Of course," he answered. "Come on, let's get out of here. You don't have to live here anymore."

She smiled. "Okay. This place is… kinda creepy."

The two siblings walked out of the catacombs side by side. "So what brought you here, anyway?" Chastity asked her brother.

"I'm looking for my friend, Lizzie." He sighed, frustrated. "It seems those hunters captured her a few days ago and sold her. Do you happen to know where they would sell her?"

"Yes, actually, I do," she said as they strode out into the setting sun. "There's a town around ten miles from here."

Gabe looked surprised. "How do you know that?"

Chastity grinned. "If you pretend like you're already some other alien's slave, they'll assume you are and leave you alone. I visited there on occasion to procure some needed supplies. I know a few others that live there. They might be able to help us."

"Wow, sis," Gabe sounded impressed. "Looks like you're not doing too badly on your own."

"Of course not," she teased. "I am _your_ sister, after all."

* * *

**Author: I made this chapter longer than the others as my dad is taking my computer to Oklahoma this week. And this is not the kind of story I can write on my mom's computer. So, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter.**


	7. Gabe's Past

Lizzie left by the same means of her arrival. Eliza decided to change into the night gown that Kisshu had given her. It covered more than her outfit did anyway. She also put on the ears, just in case he was coming back soon. But she left the tail where it lay, figuring that it would be uncomfortable to sit on. She didn't put it on until another servant came and informed her of the prince's arrival. Only then did she clip it into place and wait fearfully.

She didn't wait long. Kisshu appeared the moment she sat back down on the bed. She stared apprehensively up at him, and he grinned at her. "I see that you were a good girl and did as I told you." Eliza gulped and just wished that he would get it over with. "Let me see," he said gently. Eliza was wondering what was wrong with him, that he would talk to her in such a kind way.

She stood up and began to turn around, but he told her to stop when her right profile was facing him. He softly drifted his hand over the mark that had been left there in a burnt-umber shade of orange. Leaning over, he kissed her shoulder on her 'mate mark', before tracing his fingers over the design. "You're mine," he said; but this time was softer than that time at the Home. It was softer and quieter, and Eliza wondered if she really had heard his voice crack. He gently gripped her shoulders and turned her to face himself. Then he removed his hand from her left shoulder and brought it up under her chin. A tender kiss brushed against her lips, and Eliza couldn't stop the flutter in her heart. Why was he being so… nice? He pulled back and looked into her eyes. He smiled softly and sweetly. "You're mine," he breathed, "koneko-chan."

And suddenly, his warm behavior left Eliza feeling downright cold. He didn't care anything for her. He only cared for a dead girl, and Eliza was her ghost.

He kissed her again and again, gently and tenderly and not pushing as fast as he had before. The slope into the valley of ravaging was much less steep now, and he made sure to stop and caress her in places that her body could only enjoy, no matter how much her mind hated it. She fought herself more than him this time, and his slower pace caused her to barely realize what was happening as she struggled not to find pleasure in it. But he stole from her again. The nightgown and cat accessories lay on the floor, and Eliza lay frozen in place as he finished. When it was over this time, she felt more shame than she had the night previous. The reason why was simple: She had almost enjoyed it. And that fact ate her up more than anything else.

He tossed her a robe from the closet, and she hastily pulled it on. The silk garment felt slippery against her bare skin, and she sunk back down under the covers of the bed regardless the folds of fabric that now hung from her body, as she still felt completely exposed. Kisshu sat down on the bed next to her, wearing nothing but a silk pair of underwear. He smiled at her and grabbed her arm, forcing her to lean up against his right shoulder. She paused slightly and noticed that there was a green mark on his shoulder that matched her orange one. But beneath it, there was another mark on his bicep. It was also green, and it was also a Cyncloni symbol. But she didn't ask what it was. She forbade herself from taking any interest in him.

He looked down at her with a smile. "Let's eat, neh?" He picked up a silver bell from a small table that lay at the foot of the bed. He rang the little instrument, and Eliza was sure that the sound had been too soft for anyone to hear. But moments later, a Cyniclon servant appeared with two dishes of steaming hot food. Eliza was positively famished from not eating for so long, but she had been too absorbed in her misery to take notice. The smell of the food called back this basic need and she was nearly happy to see whatever was on the tray. As she ate that night, she was content under the circumstances. It could be better, but it could be worse. And so she came to the beginning of acceptance.

* * *

Gabe and Chastity trekked down the well-worn dirt path to the town. "Are you sure we should be going this way?" Gabe asked his younger sister. "Won't they be expecting us to travel on this road?"

Chastity just rolled her blue eyes. "No. They expect slaves to travel on this road. They know that Wilds usually try to avoid the roads at all costs, so they hunt in the woods. Besides, there's only a group of five that patrols this area. How many did you kill back there?"

"Four," Gabe answered. "And it seems my friend, Lizzie, got the other one beforehand."

Chastity raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Great. That means this place will be hunter-free for a while." They continued to trudge toward the town, side by side.

Just over the horizon began to peek the eaves of roofs. Gabe slowed his pace to take in the sight. It had been so long since he had seen a town like this. He hadn't been captured for around three months. He had escaped and returned to camp not long before Lizzie had set out on her journey to the shrine. He hadn't understood why she had wanted to go alone, but he had let her because she insisted. Now he wished that he had ignored her protests and went with her. Who knew where she was right now?

But Chastity had some answers to that question. As the siblings strolled into town, Chastity headed toward an alley behind an old restaurant, and Gabe followed behind her. The restaurant had been converted into something else for Cyniclons, but Chastity neither knew nor cared what it was. She knew all that she needed to know; Toby.

As they ventured deeper into the alley, Gabe tensed when a dark figure came into view, leaning against the wall. A male voice with a southern accent asked, "Who's that trotting over my bridge?"

Chastity replied with, "The three Billy Goats gruff."

The male voice sounded surprised. "Chass? I haven't seen you in a long time. I reckoned that they had nabbed you."

Chastity laughed and amiably retorted, "I figured you would have changed the password by now."

The figure moved and came closer so that Gabe could make out his features. He had an angular, sunken-in face that was almost as pale as a Cyniclon's. His matted hair was black and was so long that it almost covered his blue eyes. He had the hints of a beard growing in, and his nose was dotted with acne. He wore tattered clothes and his shoes had holes in them. He smiled at Chastity. "What can I say? I'm partial to goats." He seemed to notice Gabe for the first time. "Who's this?" he asked plainly.

Chastity smiled. "Do you remember that long lost brother that I told you about?"

The alley-boy nodded. "Yup."

"Well," she introduced, "this is him. Toby, meet Gabe. Gabe, this is my pal Toby."

"It's nice to meet you," Toby drawled, holding out his hand. Gabe stared at it suspiciously before shaking it. "What brings the two of you to town?"

Gabe answered, "I'm looking for a friend of mine. Her name is Lizzie. She has brunette hair and green eyes; an ovular face and a slender figure. She's wearing a hand-knitted sweater. Have you seen her?"

Toby shook his head. "Not if she's been captured. I never go over to the auction hall."

"H- How did you know that they had her?" Gabe stuttered, taken aback.

Toby just pointed straight at Gabe's nose and said, "That's the face of a desperate man. I know 'em when I see 'em."

"Toby, do you know anyone who would have that information?" Chastity asked her ally.

Toby nodded again. "There's a _personal servant_ of the auctioneer. She hates his guts and would be more than willing to help the two of you out. Her name's Leila. Unfortunately, this is right around the time when he requests her _service_, or so I hear. If y'all can wait a few hours, Leila will help. The auction hall is right in the center of town. Follow this road here," Toby pointed to the road from which they had come. "It'll take you straight there."

"Thanks," Gabe rushed to say before turning away and beginning their journey. Chastity hurried after her older brother, not wanting to lose him again.

"Hey!" Toby called, and the siblings stopped and looked at him. "This is the center of town, Chass. The _auction house_, do you understand? Be careful. _They_ certainly are."

Chastity nodded. "Duly noted, Toby. And thanks!" Then she and her brother ran off into the night.

Toby shook his head as they left. He knew it was wrong for a nineteen-year-old to be in love with a thirteen-year-old. That was why he never told her, and why he never would. Not only that, but she was a Keedeen. He knew 'em when he saw 'em. And nothing would get him killed faster than that. Human males weren't allowed to have a relationship with a Keedeen. It was forbidden. Toby certainly hoped that this Lizzie girl was ugly. Otherwise, Chastity's brother had just gotten himself into a heap of trouble.

Chastity stopped when they were half-way to the center of town. Gabe stopped when he realized that he didn't hear her footsteps anymore. He turned around and didn't see her. He remembered the last time they had been separated.

* * *

_It was spring; beautiful, wonderful spring. More than that; it was spring break. Gabe had been playing on his Xbox with his father. They had been having an all-night Call of Duty marathon, and now it was morning. His father paused the game and told him to go refill their snacks. Gabe smiled and took the empty, enormous bowl into the kitchen. He had just filled the dish to the brim with Cheetos when he heard the scream. It was Chastity, from the family room where she had been sitting with her mother; the two painting each other's nails before the trip to the lake they had planned for the next day. As Gabe ran to see what was wrong, he heard his father shout, "Chastity!" There was the laugh of a stranger, and then Chastity screamed again._

_She was screaming and crying and – Gabe stopped thinking about what she was doing when he walked in to find both of his parents dead on the family room floor. Gabe stared, disbelieving, at his lifeless father and mother. They were… dead. But that couldn't be. It had barely been a minute since his father had talked to him._

_Chastity stood there wailing, "Mommy! DADDY!" She was only twelve years old at that time. Gabe, at age sixteen, was strong enough to pick up his little sister and carry her out of the room and away from the gruesome sight. He wasn't sure why he did it. Maybe he didn't want to look at them, lying there. Maybe he had merely wanted his sister to stop screaming. Or maybe, just maybe, he had been hoping that if he left the room and then came back that the scene would prove to be just a horrible nightmare and he would walk in to find his parents alive and well. He didn't know why he carried Chastity to the kitchen, but he did. And that's when he saw them._

_Three Cyniclons were standing next to the kitchen counter and mumbling to one another in Cyncloni. Gabe had no idea what they were saying. One of them had apparently been eating the Cheetos, because his fingers were stained orange with cheese powder. But the fingers of the other two were stained with red blood. Chastity stared at them and whimpered, and Gabe was sure that he was going to be sick._

_The one with the Cheeto-fingers turned and smirked at Gabe with his golden eyes. This alien had green hair that was pulled into two low ponytails at the front of his head. He licked the cheese off his fingers before saying in English, "Hello, humans. My name is Kisshu, and today is the day that my people take back what belongs to them."_

_Gabe didn't hesitate. He ran for the back door, still cradling his terrified sister in his arms. He was halfway through the back yard when he finally set her down. "Chastity, listen to me," he told her as he looked into her eyes. "I don't know what those things are, but they killed Mom and Dad, so we have to stay as far away from them as we possibly can, okay? I'm going to Grandma's to see if she's safe. I need you to meet me at the oak tree that we used to climb when we were younger. Do you understand?"_

_Chastity nodded and tears began to flow from her eyes even faster than before. Her bottom lips quivered, and she was blubbering terribly. Gabe thrust her in the general direction of the path that led to the tree. Then he was off down the yard and over the creek that signaled where their yard ended and their grandmother's yard began._

* * *

That was the last time that Gabe had seen his sister until he found her in the catacombs. He had spent the greater part of the past year searching for her. And now, when he had given up all hope, he had finally found her. There was no way that he was going to lose her again. He began to walk back the way he had come, and that was when Chastity came out of another alley, carrying a plastic bag of something that Gabe didn't care about. He ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Where were you? I was worried. Don't you ever do that again! Do you hear me?"

Chastity just rolled her eyes and said, "Relax, bro. I was just getting us some food. We do have to eat in order to live, you know."

Gabe just stared into his little sister's eyes and noticed how much she had changed. She was no longer that crying little girl that he had to carry out of their house. She was no longer the girl who did things like paint nails and gossip. She was no longer who she used to be. Her innocence was gone, all because of these Cyniclons. And Gabe vowed to himself right then that he would make them pay for that.


	8. Hearing Voices

Chastity opened the plastic bag and handed one of its contents to her brother. "Sorry," she apologized. "It's ham salad. I know that you hate it, but it's all that Emerson could spare tonight." Gabe stared at the sandwich in his hands as his sister smiled and continued. "Hey, at least it's on wheat bread, right? You like that."

Gabe managed a half smile. "Sis, I've been eating squirrels and rabbits for the past year. Ham salad is starting to sound pretty good right now."

Chastity laughed a little bit. "Yeah, I guess it would." She gave her brother a look. "Squirrels? Really? You? You were always such a picky eater. It's hard to imagine you eating something so weird."

Gabe shrugged. "When it's squirrels or starvation, you choose squirrels. Besides, you've changed too. You used to be such a crybaby, remember?"

Chastity slugged her older brother in the arm. "I was not!"

Gabe just continued to stare at his sandwich. "Everyone changes eventually. It just happens faster in a place where you're struggling to survive. Everyone adapts, but they do it more quickly when it's either adapt or die."

Chastity looked down at the plastic bag on her lap. They were sitting in a grimy alley on the back steps of an abandoned apartment building. The word on the underground was that the Cyniclons planned to move the local Home to this building. That's what Emerson had told her when he gave her the sandwiches. He had also told her that this would be a safe spot to sit and eat tonight. So here they were.

She thought about her brother's words. _"Since when has he become so melancholy? He used to be the only person that could cheer me up. I guess the shoe is on the other foot now, huh?"_ She looked over at her brother and grinned. "Come on, Gloomy Gabe. Eat your dinner. We have to find this Leila woman, and your friend. You can't be getting sad. We have a mission. It's like Call of Duty, isn't it? Wasn't that your favorite game?"

Gabe nodded as the memories of the last time he had played flooded back into his mind. He nodded sadly and replied, "Yeah." Then he brought his sandwich to his mouth and ate, and throughout dinner, not another word was spoken.

* * *

Lizzie stared up at the glass ceiling. She was sitting on the floor again. She wondered if she could do anything to cheer up Eliza. _"Maybe I could do some ballet dancing or something. I hope that my body remembers how. It's been so long…" _She stood to her feet and slipped off her shoes. She went through her usual warm-up routine before tiptoeing over to the part of the room that the moonlight illuminated like a spotlight on the stage. She imagined that she heard the strains of "Swan Lake" echoing off of the stone walls. And so, she danced. Lizzie danced the part of the prima donna that she would have done one year ago today if the Cyniclons had never come. As she finished, she looked up to the ceiling to notice that two of the guards were standing over her and watching, probably enjoying her performance. She scowled and stood up stiffly, walking defiantly out of the wash of moonlight and over into the corner to sit in darkness. _"Try to watch me now,"_ she taunted them mentally. But no, they could probably still see her. Their night vision was excellent.

Lizzie exhaled in frustration. Couldn't they just leave her alone? Why were they so interested with her anyways? And then her blood ran cold with the answer. Prince Kisshu may have his mate, but there were still plenty of other Cyniclon bachelors out there, especially in this sector. Her greens eyes filled with tears as they had the night before. And as they had the night before, the tears spilled over.

* * *

Gabe and Chastity managed to make it to the auction house without being caught. It was there that they waited for Leila. Chastity had managed to pick up some information along the way. Apparently, Leila always came outside after _serving_ her master. Nobody knew why, but they knew that she did, and that was good enough for Chastity. So she and Gabe waited around the back of the auction hall.

Around midnight, a young woman came out and leaned against the railing of the back porch. It was then that Chastity came out, and Gabe followed her. "Are you Leila?" her brother asked the woman.

The woman jumped before whirling around to look at them. The she frowned. "Who wants to know?"

Gabe was about to answer, but Chastity put her arm in front of him to stop him. "We prefer not to say. You understand, of course?"

The woman smiled. "Friends of the underground, huh? In that case, yes, I'm Leila."

"Leila, we need your help," Gabe spoke.

She frowned. "Thanks Captain Obvious, but I figured that. What kind of help do you need?"

Chastity answered this time. "We need to know the whereabouts of a friend. Evidence has shown us that she was captured not long ago, and not far from here. They would have brought her to this auction hall."

Leila frowned again. "You've just described every girl that's been sold here for the past year. I need details."

This was when Gabe cut in again. "She has long, dark brown hair that is slightly curly, green eyes, an ovular face, and a slender figure with long legs."

"Ancht or Keedeen?"

Gabe winced at Leila's question, but answered, "Probably a Keedeen." Chastity stared at her brother in shock. This mission had just gotten more dangerous.

Leila raised her eyebrows and grinned a bit. "Submissive, or a fighter?"

"Fighter," Gabe nodded with determination. "Definitely a fighter."

Leila looked up at the night sky and pondered. She would occasionally mumble something. "Green eyes… brown hair… Hmm…" She suddenly snapped her fingers and her eyes lit up, but then they dulled again before turning to land on the siblings. "I know the girl you're talking about. And I know that she got sold to the Home. And I know that the local Home has a reputation for killing off fighters. Boy, you'd better hurry."

Gabe nodded again. "Where do we find the Home?"

Leila pointed to a place behind them and to their left. "Go that way. It's on the outskirts of town. When you get there, tell Kristy that I sent you. She always weeds the garden at the edge of the fence around noon. Talk to her then. And be careful. I spotted a royal transporter flying in that direction two days ago."

Chastity's eyes bugged out of her head. "Prince Kisshu was _here?_ In this tiny town?"

When Leila nodded, Gabe frowned. The woman looked at the boy and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Gabe grunted, "Let's just say that we also have a score to settle with _His Majesty."_ He sneered at the title.

"Oh really?" Leila seemed very intrigued now. "And what would that score happen to be?"

"He killed our parents," Gabe seethed.

"Wow," Leila replied. "And to think that maybe you guys could end all of this. And that I've helped you out." She smiled. "Good luck you two. I hope that whatever you're trying to do, you succeed."

Gabe thanked her and grabbed his sister's arm. Then the two of them ran off into the night.

* * *

Eliza awoke the next morning on Kisshu's bare chest. She quickly jumped back, but noticed too late that his arm was wrapped around her. And now he was awake too. "Good morning, honey." He sat up and pulled her into his lap. "Did you sleep well?"

Eliza stared at her hands and refused to answer his question. No. It was less of a refusal and more of a lack of ability. Some unknown force held her tongue. She couldn't speak even if she had wanted. And why did her face feel hot? _"Wait… Am I embarrassed? Why the heck would I be embarrassed? I mean, he's seen everything there is to see. … Oh. That's why."_ She felt her face flush even redder and mentally cursed her red hair for making her so blush prone.

Still, she wondered why she was suddenly embarrassed instead of angry. She should be angry. She was angry yesterday. Was it because he was nicer last night? Or was it because she was starting to like him? _"Oh no, it can't be the second option. I won't allow it!"_ screamed head-voice number one.

But head-voice number two countered with, _"Why not let yourself grow to like him? He's going to do those things anyways. You might as well be able to get some pleasure out of it."_

The first voice was back again. "Pleasure _out of _that_? You must be crazy."_

"_Please. I'm merely trying to keep the girl sane. If she's traumatized all of the time, she'll go nuts within days,"_ the second voice shot back. _"Come now, Eliza darling, listen to me."_

"_Don't listen to her! What would your parents think if you started enjoying this? It's sick!"_

"_Mmm… Isn't it just?" _the second voice moaned pleasantly.

"_Oh my gosh! You are disgusting!"_

"_And you will lead to lassitude." _

"_Lead to… what?"_

"_There. I'm the smart one," _the second voice reasoned. _"Now Eliza, listen to me. I'm only trying to help you."_

Eliza figured that she had better choose one of these voices in her head before she actually did go insane from hearing them argue all of the time. Or did listening to one of the voices make her even more insane? And was there any way to stay sane after what had happened to her?

Perhaps these voices were only the right brain and left brain about which she had read in anatomy class. If that was the case, then making a choice would be a clear and present sign of sanity. So Eliza picked the second voice. Why? She wanted to be happy, of course. And the second voice was the only one that promised happiness, even if it was morally skewed.

"_Excellent choice, dear,"_ her left-brain congratulated her. _"Now, answer his question by leaning in and giving him a nice, long kiss."_

Eliza's eyes widened. Just because she was going to try to be happy, that did not mean that she was going to instigate anything. Not yet. It was entirely too soon.

"_Maybe," _her right-brain added, trying to get some say in the new process now that she had decided to listen to its counterpart, _"you could try to convince him to treat you more nicely. For example, implement a rewards system? Evert time he does something that makes you feel like more of a person and less of an object, you use some kind of positive reinforcement or something."_

"_An excellent idea, Righty! Now Eliza, asking you if you slept well is personifying you. Kiss him!"_

"_Not so fast, Lefty! There is no reason to make the prize so extreme. All he did was ask her a question, after all. Eliza, just smile and tell him the truth."_

Eliza listened to her right-brain this time, as her left-brain's idea freaked her out. She managed a tiny smile and answered Kisshu with, "Yes, thank you."

* * *

**Author: Sorry for updating late, but school is a pain. My SAT English teacher needs to learn that giving us more homework doesn't mean that we'll learn more. Why? Because we're trying to cram more information into a brain that only has so much room per day. That's why. But she gives us extra anyway, and after wasting all that brain-power and time on homework, I sadly have none left on most days for my stories. -_- So if you want to blame someone, blame her. And I'm sorry if this chapter was lame or weird.**


	9. The Prisoner

**Author: Happy Birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! You get the idea… Today is my birthday. I'm an adult now. Isn't it sad? (T.T) If I grow up and get a job and go to college and other such stuff, I won't have time to write anymore. What a horrid thought. So now I don't want to think about it. Let's get on with the story!**

* * *

Eliza was relieved when Kisshu finally left. But she didn't have long to enjoy the moment. Ryss appeared again. "Come along, your Highness. We have work to do again today."

This 'work' consisted of yet another tattoo. It was a Cyncloni symbol that matched the one that had appeared on Kisshu's bicep that night previous. She hadn't wanted to ask him, but she had no qualms about asking Ryss. "What does it say?"

"Tenderness," Ryss replied. Eliza thought that that was a strange thing for it to say.

Ryss rubbed some of the no-swell salve on the fresh tattoo and then teleported Eliza back to Kisshu's bedroom. The violet-haired alien had other business to attend to today.

After leaving Eliza behind, Ryss teleported to another area of the palace. There, a Cyniclon man with a lime green ponytail greeted her with a kiss. "Hello darling," he cooed.

"Hello, Axle dear," she returned. "Is it almost ready?"

"It is ready. You just need to add her DNA to it." He gestured to where a black house cat floated in a bio-preservation container, surrounded by green fluid and hooked up to various wires and electrodes.

"Excellent," Ryss answered. She pulled a small vial from between her breasts. "Luckily, the _princess_ didn't notice that I snuck one of her hairs today."

Axle frowned at this. "Don't you think we should tell her?"

Ryss shook her head as she added the contents of the vial into the solution replenishing machine and watched the hair drift into the container that held the cat. "Of course not, dear. The girl's been through enough traumatizing experiences within the past two days. We don't even know if it will work. We can't get _him_ to cooperate. Until we're sure, then we should keep her in the dark. She doesn't need another thing about which to worry."

"It will happen," her husband affirmed. "It's what his Majesty wants, so it must happen. The question is not of 'if', but 'when'."

Ryss turned around and looked at Axle. "It is a matter of 'if' – if _he_ cooperates. And I really don't know what is taking him so long! His life is depending on his answering of our questions. And instead, he just sits there and glares at us."

"I think that he knows that," Axle said carefully.

Ryss scoffed. "Does he now? He could have fooled me."

"He _knows_," Axle began, "that if he tells us the information we seek, then we no longer have reason to keep him alive. He's smart, and not just by human standards. He has to be. He did what he did, after all. And he did so as a rather young human too. That's even rarer."

Ryss just growled, "Well he needs to be stupid for once. I'm angry, and I'm rather in the mood to take it out on him again."

"Now Ryss, that won't accomplish anything."

"And neither will treating him like a citizen! If it weren't for him, our prince wouldn't have been driven to kill Deep Blue. If it weren't for him, our prince never would have become so infatuated with humans in the first place. And if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have to be doing this horrendous makeover on that poor, human girl! I've had enough of his attitude. It's time that I give him some of mine."

Axle merely blew out an exaggerated breath of frustration as Ryss punched the code into the keypad that stood by the secret door, the only door in the palace, the only room which could not be teleported into. The door slid open and revealed a prisoner handcuffed to a metal chair, his back turned toward them.

Ryss hovered over and slapped him on the back of the head. "I am sick and tired of your stubbornness, human! We may need your secret knowledge. I may not be able to kill you until I have it. But I can sure as h*ll make you wish you were dead." So saying, she punched him hard in the jaw. If he were any normal human, there would have been an audible crack. But he was not ordinary. Ryss grabbed his chin and forced his blue eyes to look into hers, pushing his overgrown blond bangs aside so that he could see how determined she was. "Tell me now, Ryou Shirogane! How did you carry out the Mew Project?"

* * *

Lizzie struggled against the Cyniclon's grip. She didn't want these things touching her. He scowled at her. "I was instructed to bring you to visit the princess, and I will do as I was instructed." He yanked her closer to him and teleported.

They appeared in the room in which she had last met Eliza. And there was Eliza, sitting on the bed, a new tattoo on her right arm. Lizzie was grateful when the Cyniclon let go of her and teleported away. "How are you holding up?" Lizzie asked Eliza.

"Oh," Eliza replied, "I'm doing a bit better."

"Are you? That's good. I thought that maybe I could show you something today."

"What?"

"Well… before all of the things with the Cyniclons started, I danced ballet. I was going to be prima donna in the next recital, but… it never happened," Lizzie explained while looking at her feet.

"That's too bad," Eliza said sympathetically. Then she smiled. "But I did always enjoy watching ballet. I would love to see it."

"Okay," Lizzie replied with a tiny smile tugging at one edge of her mouth. "I'll show you." Lizzie proceeded to dance the part of the prima donna that she had practiced the night before. She focused on making her movements as graceful as possible. This dance was very possibly the only thing that Eliza could enjoy, so Lizzie was going to do her best on it.

When she had finished, Eliza clapped and grinned. "That was wonderful, Lizzie. Thank you."

"Thanks," Lizzie replied with a hint of a blush.

Eliza stopped clapping and got a faraway look in her eyes. "I always did want to learn how to dance ballet, but my parents told me that my legs were too short."

Lizzie looked over Eliza's short and stocky figure. Then she glanced down at her own long legs and trim waist. They were of very different builds. Still, Lizzie looked into Eliza's eyes and said, "I could teach you if you want."

Those big, brown eyes seemed to brighten a kilowatt. "Would you?"

"Yeah, sure," Lizzie replied with a nod. Then she laughed sadistically. "It's not like I have anything else to do."

Eliza stood up from the bed. "What do I do first?"

Lizzie smirked. "You stretch."

* * *

Gabe and Chastity made it to the Home and slept in the forest close to it until the sun came up. Gabe sat Chastity on guard duty as he went to comb the forest for breakfast. He found a blackberry bush and figured that these would make a pretty good meal, but he didn't have anything in which to carry them back. So, he removed his shirt and piled the berries into it. He carried the shirt full of berries back to his sister, and they ate while they waited for the girl to come and weed the garden.

The sun was high in the sky when she came out. Her hair was light brown and she was wearing a pink shirt and a pair of khaki pants, and had a blue streak in her hair. She went to work weeding the garden, and Gabe instantly got up and went over to talk to her. He didn't seem to notice that he still wasn't wearing a shirt. He approached the girl and asked her, "Are you Kristy?"

The girl jumped and almost screamed. She looked up at this handsome vision that had appeared before her and absentmindedly wondered if he had stepped out of her dreams. "Yes," she replied nervously. "And you are?"

Gabe looked back into the trees where Chastity waited. "I'd rather not say," he answered Kristy.

"Oh," Kristy frowned at first. Then she remembered the underground code. "Oh! Right. So how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a friend of mine," Gabe confessed. "Someone told us that she was sold to this place. Her name is Lizzie. She has brunette hair, green eyes, and is tall with long legs and a trim waist. She was wearing a homemade sweater the last time that I saw her. Do you know her?"

"Lizzie?" Kristy frowned. "I can't say that I do. How long ago was she sold?"

Gabe flinched at the sound of the word 'sold'. It was just beginning to sink in for him, how dire this situation really was. "About two or three days ago."

Kristy thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. "There was a new girl that came here three days ago, in the late afternoon. She roomed with Eliza, the goody-two-shoes that always did as the House Owner asked."

Gabe was so excited that he didn't even realize that Kristy was using past-tense verbs. "Great! Can I see her? I need to talk to her and… make sure she's okay." He was going to break Lizzie out of this Home. A girl like her didn't belong here. Then again, none of them did. But Gabe didn't know any of the other girls, and he knew that he couldn't save them all anyways. He just wanted Lizzie.

"Um… That's the thing," Kristy began. "She _was_ here, and she _did_ room with Eliza. But Eliza and her new roommate were sold to the same master the very next morning."

Gabe was crestfallen, and Kristy hated to disappoint such a handsome guy, as a face that attractive should only ever smile. He looked at her with intense blue eyes and asked, "You don't think that you could get me the name of that master, could you?"

Kristy bit her lip and fought the urge to tell all. But she was powerless against those puppy-dog eyes. "Actually," she stuttered, "I can. It's kind of all anyone in the Home can talk about. You see, those two girls… they were bought by the prince."

Gabe's eyes widened. "Prince… Kisshu?" When Kristy nodded, he replied, "Thank you. You've been very helpful." He turned and ran back into the forest and left behind a very disappointed girl. Kristy had been hoping for a kiss as a reward for helping him.

* * *

**Author: And there you have it. Chapter nine. Are you happy, SonicXMinaGirl? I gave you a shirtless Gabe scene.**

**And merci beacoup to Himdall for your nice PM. I always like getting readers from other nations because it makes me feel accomplished. :D So, how is life in Pai's sector, anyways? And also, if your English isn't very good, how are you reading my story? :O Hahaha. : ) Thanks and please keep reading.**

**And fiveseventyfive, please don't hurt me because of the shirtless Gabe scene. But it seems that my male OC has picked up a few fangirls. Who knew that I could write that good? I make people fall in love with my OCs all of the time. First Chaim from American Mew Mew, and now Gabe. Goodness. I need to watch my authoress powers or they might get out of control. :o**

**To everyone else, why haven't you let me know that you like this yet? You must review, or I will send Cyniclon hunters after you. Mwahahahaha! So review!**


	10. The Last Mark

Gabe returned to Chastity on the hill, near the edge of the forest. "Bad news," he said gravely.

"What? Where is she?" Chastity asked innocently.

"Kisshu has her," Gabe replied. His little sister gasped in horror. "Yeah, I know. It's terrible," he added.

"So... I guess this is the end of the line, huh? I mean, we can't make all the way to the District of Cynclonia and back safely. It's impossible," Chastity sighed sadly.

Gabe gave his sister an incredulous look. "Did you forget who you were talking to? This is your big brother, Gabe. I never give up. Not when there's still a chance."

Chastity looked at him like he was stupid. "You gave up on me."

Gabe looked appalled. "I found you, didn't I?" He elbowed her gently in the side.

Chastity smiled. "Alright, I'll give it to you. So we're really going to D.C.?"

"You betcha," Gabe winked at her.

"This girl is that important to you, huh?" Chastity teased.

Gabe blushed. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He stood up, pulling his blackberry stained shirt with him.

"Sure you don't, sure you don't," Chastity teased some more as her brother pulled his shirt on over his head.

"Let's go," he said when he finished. And so the two of them began to trek east through the forest, along the tree line. _"I'm coming for you, Lizzie. Just hang on."_

* * *

Lizzie had been teaching Eliza ballet for about a week now. The redheaded girl was slowly (and rather clumsily) learning the art of dance. But Lizzie admitted that it was a difficult thing to do without music. Eliza agreed.

Over the past seven days, Kisshu had pleasured himself with her seven times, and Ryss had added a new tattoo for each of Kisshu's that had developed because of this act. One on Eliza's right forearm read, "Passion." The back of her right wrist said, "Strength." Her left shoulder read, "Pleasure." Her left bicep said, "Affection." Her left forearm said, "Greed"; the back of her left wrist, "Desire." And across her midriff, the word "Mine" was displayed in bright, rustic orange. These words were all written in Cyncloni, and all of their meanings disgusted Eliza. As much as she had tried to enjoy those moments for the sake of her left-brain, she had not been able to. The concept was much simpler than the action. Some things are not allowed in the minds of innocents, even those who have been soiled against their will.

So Eliza was feeling rather melancholy each day, and the only thing she ever had to look forward to was her dance practices with Lizzie. But dancing was difficult without music.

So Eliza came up with a plan. She would ask Kisshu for music of some kind. An iPod, a CD player, a string quartet; she didn't care, as long as she had music. And so, that night, she approached him with the idea.

"Sure, you can have music," Kisshu responded with a sly grin. "You just have to pleasure me first."

Eliza blushed, but nodded. He was going to do it anyway. She might as well get something out of it. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable. But… nothing happened. When she opened her eyes again, Kisshu was still reclining against the pillows like he was before. She looked at him in confusion.

He smirked. "I believe you misunderstood my meaning," he explained. "I said that _you_ have to pleasure _me_. Instigate this evening, and I'll let you have your music."

Eliza shook her head. She mumbled, "Forget it."

Kisshu frowned. "You're not supposed to say that, Ichigo."

Eliza was fed up with it. How long was he going to pretend? She scowled at him. "I'm not Ichigo. Ichigo's dead."

A trace of sadness flitted through Kisshu's golden eyes and he moved his hands from behind his head to rest on his lap. She barely heard him whisper, "I know."

"What?" she looked into his face, and he looked back at her.

"I said, 'I know'." He smiled ruefully and leaned in close to her face. "You don't think I know? Trust me; I am very much aware that you are not Ichigo. I know that she is dead. I watched her _die_. I know. You're not Ichigo."

"Then… why?" she asked, trying to keep the tears from spilling over.

"Because it hurts," he replied, backing away and reclining against the pillows again. "To know that she would rather die than be with me… I loved her. I _still_ love her, even though she's gone. I betrayed my entire people for her, d*mmit. And what did she do?" He glared at the wall. "And now it hurts. And I'm a prince. What can I do to ease to the pain now that I'm responsible for more than just myself? I can't drink or get stoned in order to forget her. I have to rule everyone. So what else can I do but pretend that she never left me? What else can I do but make you be her?"

Eliza was quiet for a long while. When she finally spoke, it was softly. "You could honor her memory. You could make sure that your subjects hold her name in the highest esteem. You could make sure that's she's happy with you when she looks down on this world from wherever the afterlife is. You could show her how much you care about her by distinguishing her as an individual from the rest of the girls in the world, even if she is no longer in it. If you really do still love her, you can prove it by showing everyone."

Kisshu looked at her. "And how would I do that?"

Eliza shook her head. "I don't know. Name a city after her. Build a golden statue of her. Make her story required learning for every school in your sector. I don't know how you do it. But I know how you _don't_ do it. And you don't do it by making her memory into something you can replace with a cheap imitation."

Kisshu stared at her. "So you're telling me this to benefit yourself?"

"Not completely - "

"But that's part of it. And what is the other part?"

Eliza looked at her lap. "We humans admire her too. She fought for us. Even if she did give up at the last, she still fought for us until she felt like she had nothing left to fight for." She chuckled ruefully. "It sucks that she didn't think the human race was worth fighting for. But she lost the person she loved. Who would want to fight after that?"

Kisshu groaned. "So you're saying it's my fault that she's dead? Because I killed him?"

"No," Eliza shook her head and looked at him. "I think that he would have killed her. From what I've heard of that battle, the person she cared for was already gone and she was just in denial." Eliza gave an ironic smile. "… Kind of like you are now."

Kisshu exhaled sharply. "So you're trying to tell me… what?"

"That there's nothing you can do to bring her back and nothing you can do to replace her. Don't dishonor her memory by trying."

Kisshu leaned back and closed his eyes in thought. After about thirty minutes, he finally opened them. "Thank you, Eliza." She jumped a bit at her own name coming from his mouth. It was the first time he had said it. "You were a great help just now. I know exactly what I'm going to do to honor her memory." When he looked at her, she smiled at him. He continued to speak. "However, it's an unfortunate consequence of being my species: the fact that we mate for life. We're like – what's one of those earth animals? – eagles. We go crazy without our mates. And blinded by my own passion, I regret that I forced you to be mine, and I don't even know who you are. Will you forgive me?"

Eliza stared at her lap yet again. Could she forgive him? She believed so, but she knew it would be hard. She looked back up at him. "Eventually."

He laughed. "I'm glad you're being honest. Well then, what do you say to me starting to get to know you? The real you, Eliza."

Eliza felt her throat choke up with the feeling that comes before you cry. She nodded happily. He was going to try to love her, to actually love _her_. Even though he wasn't her idea of an ideal husband – not even close, really – he was the only option she now had. And she was elated that he was going to start loving her instead of pretending that she was Ichigo. She was so happy that someone was going to start loving her. Truthfully, she had never been loved before by anyone outside of her family. This wasn't how she expected it to start – not even close, really – but she was glad that it was finally starting.

He leaned in close to her and started to kiss her. And this time, for the first time, she kissed back. This time, she responded to him in everything he did to her. And when it was over, they both reclined against the pillows with a smile. Kisshu looked over at her with a grin. "I think I like you," he said seductively. A mark appeared on his left eyelid like all of the other marks had appeared on his arms and stomach. She saw it when he blinked.

She reached out to touch his eyelid, and he closed his eyes. This time, for the first time, she asked. "What does it say?"

Kisshu laughed. "I don't know. I can't read it. It's on my eye, silly." And Eliza smiled in embarrassment. Kisshu looked at her again. "I'll be sure to get you an iPod, Eliza." She blushed because she had forgotten all about that.

* * *

**Author: Aw! Thanks Littlespottedcat! Your review made me get all these little warm, fuzzy feelings inside. "Your characters have a quality that I can't find anywhere else."** **I seriously almost had happy tears. You guys, I have the authoress X-factor. I'm one of those characters-of-awesomeness people. Aw. Yay!**

**Like my story? Let me know. Please click the review button below.**


	11. Ichigo Day

**Author: Gosh, I haven't updated this in a long time! Sorry! It's hard to keep up, what with the homework and the other fanfics that I've been writing. (For everyone who has read American Mew Mew, I was working on the sequel.) Plus, I had a bit of a block on this one. But now that's resolved and I have mentally planned the outline of the next three chapters. How did this block resolve? SwanMew came over and we built a blanket fort. Yes… I know. I get my inspiration from the strangest things. But hey, that's one of the signs of a true writer, right? You guys have waited long enough, so let's get on with it.**

* * *

Eliza awoke the next morning to find her head on Kisshu's chest. He was already awake and stared down at her with a soft expression that she had never before seen on his face. He took his hand and softly brushed it over her cheek. "It's official," he said gently. "We are lifemates now. The one from last night was the tenth and last mating mark." He smiled and leaned forward to tease her. "So no one should try to steal you from me, or they will suffer the consequences."

Eliza gave a bit of an awkward giggle. It was strange having him be so nice to her, and it would take some time to get used to it.

"Today," Kisshu said as he pulled away from her face, "we are going to have breakfast. Then, I'm going to sign a document to honor Ichigo like you suggested. I can never replace her, but that doesn't mean that I can't remember her."

Eliza sat there awkwardly as Kisshu rang the little bell that sat on the side table. Now she felt as though she were second-best, and that wasn't a good feeling either. Some darker side of her mused that she might have preferred his abuse, but she stuffed that thought down and refused to dwell on it.

A Cyniclon servant appeared with a tray that contained two rather large platters. Then he disappeared, reappearing with another tray. And then, he did it again. He bowed before leaving one last time. _"There are only two of us. Why did he bring so much?"_ Eliza wondered.

Kisshu soon answered her question. "We are going to celebrate, my love!" He was grinning from enormous ear to enormous ear. "We will celebrate the ineffable thing that is a completed courtship. And we will celebrate the first annual Ichigo Day!"

"Ichigo day?" Eliza asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Kisshu answered. "You humans had holidays for important, historical figures, right? My sector doesn't have any holidays. Taruto has made his birthday a holiday in his sector, and the customs for that day change with his mood. Pai's sector celebrates Mew Demise Day. It's the one day of the year where his subjects are actually allowed to have fun." Kisshu chuckled at his own joke. "Anyways," he explained, "I figured that I would honor Ichigo by making a holiday for her. Today is the first Ichigo Day! Although, it won't be official until I sign it into law later today. But I'm going to be busy for the rest of the day, so I figured that we could celebrate early."

So saying, he leaned forward and pulled the cover off of the top of the first platter. There were four omelets, a huge pile of bacon, and another pile of sausage links. He removed the lid from the second platter, and there were various kinds of yogurt and fruits. He took the lid off of the third platter, which contained many types of bread, biscuits and bagels with butter, jam and cream cheese. The fourth platter had English muffins, scones, and muffins. The fifth platter had two stacks of the hugest pancakes that Eliza had ever seen, and the sixth contained an abundance of mini-waffles and French toast sticks. There was also a lot of syrup.

"It's going to be a feasting holiday!" Kisshu explained happily.

"No kidding…" Eliza almost laughed.

"Dig in, cutie," Kisshu told her.

"Gosh, I don't know where to start!" Eliza exclaimed.

Kisshu laughed and grabbed a piece of bacon. He had finished three more pieces and a biscuit before Eliza decided to finally start with a piece of French toast. She dunked it the syrup and swirled it around before stuffing the whole stick into her mouth at once. Kisshu laughed at her before doing the same. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and ate another piece. Eliza took three sausage links, and then ate one of the omelets. Kisshu picked up an orange. Eliza noticed and looked at him.

"Oranges are good, but I wish that they weren't so hard to peel. My hands usually get all sticky from the juice," she confessed.

Kisshu laughed. "They're not. It's really easy." Eliza dubiously raised her eyebrows at this statement, but Kisshu soon proved his point. He dug his sharp, claw-like fingernail into the orange peel and spun the orange around with his thumb. The peel fell off and resembled a slinky made out of a citrus rind. Eliza stared in fascination. "Open your mouth," Kisshu ordered. Eliza did, and he popped an orange wedge into her mouth. It was the best piece of orange that she had ever tasted. The sweet juice filled her mouth and she found herself smiling while she chewed. Kisshu laughed at her expression and ate a piece of the fruit himself.

Eliza swallowed her mouthful and her eyes alighted on another piece of fruit. "A peach!" she exclaimed. She grabbed the fuzzy fruit and bit right into it, moaning in pleasure as the juice spilled onto her chin. Eliza had no idea where they had found a peach this ripe in the late spring, as peaches were more of a mid-summer food. What she did know is that this one was delicious.

Kisshu sat with the fifth section of orange halfway in his mouth, staring at Eliza as she made some very erotic noises. She looked up at him, and her face blushed when she noticed his intense expression. It was so cute. Slowly, while still watching her, he sank one of his fangs into his wedge of orange. A tiny bit of juice squirted onto his bottom lip, but he didn't bother to lick it away. He twirled his tongue around the pierced section of orange and so brought the fruit into his mouth, chewing slowly. He grinned slightly when he saw Eliza's face darken to a deeper shade of red.

Slowly and deliberately, he reached for one of the little ceramic bowls of syrup. "Breakfast is boring," he admitted with a slow shake of his head while staring into Eliza's eyes. Holding the syrup bowl, he pushed Eliza down onto the bed. He then overturned the tiny bowl, allowing the syrup to spill onto Eliza's arm. Casting the bowl aside, he grabbed her arm and licked it slowly and sensually. Eliza squealed under her breath, and for the first time, Kisshu couldn't tell if it was from fear or excitement. He glanced up at her face with a seductive grin before licking the rest of the sweet, sugary solution from her arm. Grabbing a different bowl of syrup, he tilted it forward to coat the cleavage that was left exposed from her red, V-neck nighty. Eliza started breathing faster as he leaned in with his tongue sticking out, intent on removing the syrup without wasting it. He heard her heart accelerate. He smiled, and it looked odd with his tongue protruding from his mouth – the tongue that was just about the make contact with syrupy skin.

There was a noise, and then a male shout. "Ah! I am terribly sorry your Majesty! I came for the trays. I- I didn't expect…"

Raising his head, Kisshu sat up and turned around. One of his servants stood in the room, his back turned to them. He had no doubt turned around to give privacy to the scene he had been about to witness. "Hutu," Kisshu ordered, "take the trays and leave." Hutu turned around and began to quickly gather the trays. He left in a hurry.

"Well," Kisshu said, scooting away from Eliza, "that certainly ruined the mood." With him no longer on top of her, Eliza sat up. Kisshu stared at her syrup-coated chest. "I'll have Ryss clean you up while I sign that new law." He teleported to the closet and opened the doors. As he changed, he began to contemplate punishments for Hutu's bad timing.

* * *

Lizzie widened her eyes at all of the trays of food being brought into her room by a Cyniclon servant. "What the heck is all of this?" she asked.

"Leftovers from their Majesties' feast this morning. Happy Ichigo Day." With those words, he left.

"What was he all flustered about?" Lizzie asked herself aloud as she removed the cover from one of the platters. "Mini-waffles! Score!"

* * *

Ryss grimaced as she took a wet wash cloth to Eliza's sticky chest. The human girl sat in a tub of warm, bubbly water while Ryss scrubbed her from head to toe. The Cyniclon woman wasn't even going to ask how Eliza's chest had gotten coated in syrup. With the prince's reputation, it was easy to guess. She felt sorry for the things that the girl had to endure. Taking pity on the human, Ryss slipped a bottle of ultra-strength aroma therapy herbs into the bath water. Within moments, Eliza was asleep. Ryss took out her tattoo pen. This last mate mark had to be placed on Eliza's left eyelid, an area of skin that was very sensitive on humans. Ryss was a bit surprised at the last word though. This Cyncloni symbol read, "Love".

* * *

It had taken them an entire week, but Gabe and Chastity eventually made it to D.C. – the District of Cynclonia. It was the capitol city of Kisshu's sector and sat right where Washington D.C. had when humans had still ruled the world one year ago. "Hide your weapons, and hide them well," Chastity told her older brother. "We may have to pass as slaves here. There are too many of _them_."

Gabe nodded and set to work storing away his various weapons. He still kept them on his person, but he hid them under his clothing and inside of his boots. When he had finished, he nodded to his little sister, and the two of them crossed the boundary line into the capitol city.

* * *

Kisshu had already signed the holoscroll making Ichigo Day an official holiday when he teleported into the lab. "Good morning, Axle," Kisshu greeted the Cyniclon man in charge of keeping the lab. "Has he agreed to help yet?"

Axle shook his head. "No, milord. He won't concur no matter what conditions we change or how many threats we make to his life. I've told Ryss this before, but I think he knows that we need him alive."

Kisshu smirked. "That's where he's wrong. Open the door for me. I'm going in."

Axle punched the numbers in on the keypad and stepped aside to let Kisshu through. The green-haired prince strode through the door like he owned the room and its inhabitant. And he did.

"Shirogane Ryou," he spoke in Japanese. He knew very well that his prisoner also spoke English, but it was much easier to sound threatening in the other tongue. "I want to know how you accomplished the Mew Project."

The blond raised his head and glared at him with ice blue eyes. "I'm not telling you anything, Kisshu. You only want my serum for selfish reasons. You want to make another Ichigo, because the real one is dead. You sick, perverted, b*st*rd. Why should I tell you anything?"

"First off, you're wrong about me wanting to make a new Ichigo. I did at first, yes, but," Kisshu paused dramatically. "I've recently realized that you cannot use a new person to replace an old one. It does nothing for the pain, except for possibly make it worse. That being said, you're wrong about my wanting to replace Ichigo. But I would like to make some… improvements... on my new toy.

"And as for why you should tell me anything-"

Ryou interrupted Kisshu's next point. "Just get it over with and kill me already! I will never, _ever_ tell you how to alter a girl for your own sadistic pleasure. I would rather die."

Kisshu raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I suppose that I will kill you today. We don't really need you or your information. It is only quicker that way."

Ryou's eyes widened considerably. Then, unsure of Kisshu's meaning, Ryou stared at his lap in contemplation, his dirt-streaked bangs falling over his eyes. "What do you mean by that?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, it's quite simple. Pai has plenty of unwanted humans in his sector. I could always ask to have them imported in order to be experimented on. Of course, a lot of them would die in the process. The experiments would probably fail several times before they succeed. The entire human race might end up being wiped out, all because you chose to die rather than make me that serum." Kisshu let this sink in a bit before asking Ryou, "So Shirogane, if you won't do it to save your own life, will you do it to save theirs?"

Ryou struggled against his restraints. "You son of a b*st*rd-loving b*tch! You wouldn't dare do that to them!"

"I would. I am, like you said, sadistic and selfish," Kisshu grinned evilly. "The question here is, are you?"

Ryou swore. "D*mn it! D*mmit, d*mmit, d*mmit!" The blond stared at the floor. "Alright," he finally agreed. "I'll…" Ryou Shirogane nearly both choked and vomited on the words, "I'll help you."

* * *

**Author: And there it is! I hope it was worth the wait. This chapter goes out to a special fan who wished to see more of Kisshu. It also goes out to my favorite reader who could probably live off of lemon scenes. ;)**

**Like my story? Let me know! Follow, fave and review below. I allow anonymous too, so there's no excuse for you not to review. (This is a cute little rhyming poem. Isn't it awesome?)**


	12. Breaking Free

**Author: fiveseventyfive may have to go back and read those Gabe parts that they decided to omit. You will need to understand them soon. (Hint, hint.)**

* * *

Gabe and Chastity walked through the streets of D.C. It was very dangerous. Buildings were flying around, and some rolled along the ground. It was hard to keep from being run over by some Cyniclon's alien house. The pair received some very strange looks. Or more accurately, Gabe received some very strange looks. If Chastity had been alone, no Cyniclon would have given a second thought to the presence of a young Keedeen. But seeing a male human was very odd. Most males worked on farms, and those that didn't were often labor servants to a business in a small town. Big cities like D.C. only had Keedeen girls working in the positions that required humans. Any other human was considered offensive.

It was Gabe's offense of being male and having the audacity to come to such a large municipality that drew the attention of a Cyniclon enforcement officer. The officer walked over to the sibling pair and began to speak with them. "Are you humans lost?" asked the blue-haired Cyniclon. He looked at Gabe curiously when the boy shot him a glare.

Chastity was the one to answer his inquiry. "Yes, sir," she said in a helpless tone. "You see, our master sent us to deliver something to someone. We finished our delivery, but by the time we returned to the place where his transporter had been parked, it was no longer there. We know where he was going, but we don't know how to get there."

The officer raised an eyebrow. "And where was he going?"

"To the palace," Chastity answered. "He had a meeting with his Majesty."

Gabe had caught on to his sister's act and had stopped glaring. He too tried to appear innocent. "Could you please lead us there, sir?"

The Cyniclon nodded in agreement, but he was still suspicious of these humans. He would lead them on foot and attempt to get more information out of them during the walk. If they were lying, he would kill the male and force the female to be his servant. "Follow me," he instructed them.

Gabe and Chastity walked behind the officer as he led them through the streets and to a path that led up a hill. The officer grinned as he thought to himself, _"Once I reach the top of this hill, I will inquire of the visitor who is missing his servants. If there is none, I will give a stiff penalty for these two_."

He said to Gabe, "It is strange for your master to have a male personal servant. And it is stranger still for him to let you run about with a Keedeen. Does he not fear the consequences of putting together a male and female of the same species?"

Gabe was infuriated with this guy. He seemed to be suggesting horrid things. "I would never do such a thing with her. She is my sister!" he hurried to explain.

"Ah, I see," replied the officer. "Then I suppose there is some convenience to having a male servant. By your species' biological nature, the male is stronger than the female. You would be good for heavy lifting. And no doubt, you make a good guard for his Keedeen, as she is your sister and you are naturally protective of her for such a reason. If I had a female servant, I certainly wouldn't want her to be assaulted during her errands. Such things happen in a city as big as this, you know." And now the officer had another, better idea. He could merely kill this male servant and steal the Keedeen from any master that she may or may not have. And if anyone did own the girl, he could merely say that his mistook the pair for Wild lovers and apologize for jumping to conclusions, and thus escape any penalty.

Gabe was struggling not to punch this Cyniclon. He saw a building resting atop the hill and asked, "Is that the palace?"

"Yes," replied the Cyniclon in a sinister tone while turning around, "but I am afraid that you will not make it there." So saying, he pulled out some manner of alien gun and pointed it straight at Gabe.

Gabe burst into action, pulling a knife from his boot. The officer fired his weapon, and an energy pulse stunned Gabe as he lunged forward, causing him to stumble to his knees and his knife to miss his target – the Cyniclon's heart – and bury into the alien's thigh.

"AH!" the officer shouted painfully. He hit Gabe on the head with the handle of his gun. Gabe quickly pulled the knife out of the officer's leg only to plunge it into his crotch. The Cyniclon screamed in agony and dropped his gun, which Chastity hurried to pick up. It was then that Gabe rose up from the ground where he had fallen and stabbed his knife through the Cyniclon's heart.

Chastity stared in shock. "Gabe… you… you killed him."

"Yeah, and so what?" Gabe replied in an icy tone. "He was about to kill me, and something tells me that he wouldn't have been kind enough to give you the same fate."

Chastity gulped, and Gabe motioned for them to keep moving. This was a very steep hill. If they were to reach the palace by nightfall, they must climb it now.

* * *

They got there sooner than he expected. As a matter of fact, the two humans were caught trespassing by a Cyniclon woman with dark purple hair. The sun was setting, and the woman stared at them as they sat behind a row of bushes. "You humans don't work here. Who are you and why have you come?"

"I'd rather not say," Gabe replied with a growl, "but let's just assume that the prince has stolen something of mine that I want back."

"The girl?" Ryss looked at this human boy and saw a solution for the guilt that had been welling up inside of her over the past few days. "You're here for the girl."

Gabe nodded. He wasn't sure to whom she was referring, but in the heat of that moment, he didn't care.

"Thank your god," Ryss stared into his eyes, "that it was I who found you and no one else. I have been forced to alter the appearance of that poor girl for the past week. And now, the prince seeks to alter her very DNA. She doesn't deserve such treatment. I can see on her face how much it pains her, and she doesn't even know of his plans. I'll help you rescue her, but you must promise to rescue her friend as well. If you take one and not the other, the one left behind will be severely punished."

Gabe nodded solemnly. "I swear it."

Ryss nodded in approval. "Now, her friend's room is accessible from the roof. The roof to that room is glass, and should be easy to shatter. You will know the right area because there are several guards posted. Get past them however you can. You will rescue her friend, and I will meet you at the bottom of the hill with the girl. Then I'll transport you all out of the city to relative safety."

Gabe didn't trust her, but Chastity knew honesty when she saw it. "Thank you, ma'am. But I must ask you, why are you doing this?"

Ryss shook her head. "I didn't know that humans had such strong feelings or such stubborn wills. If the girl stays here much longer, she is apt to enrage someone and get killed. I've gotten to know her over the past week, and I don't want that to happen. She may be stubborn, but she is kind. I don't want that ruined. I've come to care for the girl as a friend. I don't want her dead. So I'll help you."

* * *

It was dark. Nighttime was here again. Lizzie tried to go to sleep, but she couldn't. She was thinking. Or worrying, rather. How was Gabe doing? What if he had gotten caught again? Lizzie also thought of her father. He had been on a business trip that day: the day that the world had turned upside down. Did he survive? Was he able to escape into the woods and live like a Wild as she had? She also wondered about the fate of the three dogs that had run away. Was Kipper being nice to Beth? Was Nana afraid without Molly? Could two corgis and a border collie really survive on their own in the woods for a year? Lizzie was so preoccupied that she didn't notice the noises that were coming from outside.

If Lizzie hadn't been so preoccupied, she would have heard the shouts of the guards that hovered over her stain-glass roof. She would have heard the unsheathing of weaponry and the blasts of a Faze-Gun that had been taken from its dead owner. She would have heard the thuds caused by Cyniclon bodies dropping to the roof. But Lizzie was so preoccupied that she didn't hear anything until the glass ceiling smashed and rained down in sparkle of rainbow colors onto the white marble floor.

Shocked, the brunette girl sat up in her bed, her green eyes wide in fear. Had one of the guards decided to follow the prince's example and take a bride by force? But if so, why would they announce their presence by such a dangerous action when they could have easily teleported inside? Curious now, Lizzie crawled over to the foot of her bed and gingerly peered up beyond the canopy. What she saw made her heart leap inside her chest. Gabe was climbing down some sort of rope and into her room. Gabe had come to save her! Was she having a dream?

"Lizzie!" he exclaimed, rappelling down the rope he had made from the shirts of the dead guards. He was surprised to see her there. Kristy had told him that she had been roomed with a submissive girl, and the Cyniclon woman spoke of a girl with a strong spirit as the object of the prince's affections. Lizzie had such a strong spirit that he had assumed she was the girl about whom their accomplice had spoken. No submissive girl would have a strong spirit, right? But Lizzie wasn't the prince's personal slave! This relieved Gabe so much.

"Gabe! You're here! How? I mean, it's so far. We went in a transporter and through a wormhole and – how did you find me?" Lizzie asked joyfully.

Gabe smiled. "Lizzie, this is _me_ we're talking about, right? I would travel across Pai's zone and into Taruto's sector if it meant saving you. Getting into Prince Kisshu's palace is nothing."

Lizzie laughed at his excessive confidence.

"I'll climb up first," Gabe explained. "Then you can grab on, and we'll pull you up."

"We?" Lizzie asked in confusion.

Gabe smiled again. "I finally found my sister."

"Gabe, that's wonderful!" Lizzie whispered in amazement.

"Yeah, I know," he replied. "Now, once I'm up, you grab onto this and tug twice. We'll raise you up." Gabe gripped the cloth rope and began to climb.

"Okay," Lizzie agreed with a nod as she watched him clamber up toward the shattered hole in the glass ceiling.

* * *

It didn't take Ryou long to finish the serum. The threat that still resounded in his mind combined with the abundance of resources and caused him to finish his work with all possible speed. It was done at midnight. He sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his filthy, blond hair. The alien called Axle came and examined his work. A pink liquid sat in a glass vial. "Is this it?" Axle asked.

"Yes," Ryou sighed in defeat. "That is what he asked for."

"Good," Axle nodded. "You are allowed to wash, eat, and rest now. I will bring you to your room." Axle put a hand on Ryou's shoulder and teleported him to a room with no windows or doors. It was a luxurious room with soft, red carpet and white walls made of marble. But as he looked around, all Ryou saw was a cell. It was a more comfortable cell than the one in which he had previously resided, but it was a cell all the same.

* * *

Returning to the lab, Axle took the vial and a syringe. He then called the royal suite on the communications pad, and his Majesty answered. "The serum is ready," Axle told him.

"That was quicker than I expected." Axle almost jumped as the prince's voice came from directly behind him.

Axle turned around and nodded. "Yes, milord. I was surprised as well. He worked constantly. However it is that you convinced him, it was a very effective method."

Kisshu smirked. "Yes. I was sure it would be." As Axle handed him the vial and syringe, he took it. After filling the syringe, Kisshu tossed the empty vial to the ground, where it shattered in a way not unlike Lizzie's ceiling.

He teleported to the bedroom. Eliza slept on the bed peacefully. Taking her wrist in his hand, he injected the serum into the vein on her arm. Eliza stirred in pain, but she didn't wake up. Getting the mate marks embedded on her skin over the past week had greatly increased her pain tolerance. Kisshu smiled as he removed the needle from her arm. Now she would be even more beautiful, or at least by his perverted standards. He gently ran a finger over her final mate mark: the one on her left eyelid. He felt the diamonds embedded under her eyebrow. He smiled. Now she was perfect. Really, she was better than Ichigo. She wasn't trying to stop him from saving his people. She wasn't pushing him away from her. She wasn't trying to kill him. No. She was his mate, and he would love her until death. He had no other choice, really. The mating ritual had been completed. The mate marks had finished appearing. And now, death would come to the one who tried to take her away from him. And he would be the one who brought it.

It was at that moment that the communicator pad crackled to life again. The voice of Ryss sounded through it, panicked. "Sire, sire! The human scientist is threatening to kill himself!"

"Oh, sh*t," Kisshu grumbled. He wasn't finished with Ryou yet. If this serum was a fake, he wanted to make sure that he could still get the real thing. Kisshu quickly teleported away.

Ryss soon appeared in his place. She grabbed hold of Eliza's shoulder and shook her awake. "Come, your Highness. We must make haste."

"Wha…?" Eliza murmured incoherently.

Ryss gripped Eliza's shoulder and teleported. There, at the bottom of the hill, were Gabe, Lizzie, and Chastity, right where she had told them to be. "Come, humans. You are getting out of this city. The rest is up to you."

"Lizzie?" Eliza asked in surprise. "Who are these people?" She turned to her stylist. "Ryss, what's going on?"

"Humans, grab onto me," Ryss commanded. Chastity touched her first, then Lizzie, and finally Gabe. Ryss still held Eliza's shoulder. Then, she teleported. They appeared in the woods outside of D.C. "Now run, and don't return. If you come back, it will mean death. Run. Run!"

* * *

Kisshu appeared in Ryou's room. He heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. Flying across the room, he flung open the door. Ryou was sitting in the bathtub, and he jumped at the intrusion of his privacy. "What the h*ll do you want? I'm in the bathtub! You already have the serum, correct?"

Kisshu's eyes narrowed. "I was told that you were trying to commit suicide." Ryou raised his eyebrows. Kisshu stared at the floor. "But as it is obvious that you are not…" A growl erupted from his throat, and he punched the marble wall, causing it to crack. "Ryss!" And with that, he was gone.

Ryou sat, slightly disturbed and slightly amused, in the bathtub. It appeared that Kisshu's own people were turning against him. He didn't know whether to be happy or scared for them. He knew a lot about Kisshu's temper from the several battles that he had witnessed. If his sector rebelled, Kisshu might very well kill them all.

* * *

**Author: I'm asking for opinions. Does Gabe seem like a Marty-Sam to anyone other fiveseventyfive and myself? If so, please let me know. Your reviews may decide Gabe's fate. You see, there's an ultimate showdown coming, and it's going to leave one of the Elizabeths without a man. Who lives and who dies? That power rests in your hands. Now review!**


	13. Tension Rising

Eliza walked along in the forest with Lizzie and two other people, not entirely understanding what was happening. She was surprised that they kept walking farther and farther away from the city. Ryss had been the one to take her from her room. Were they going someplace for more makeover procedures? Were there things that couldn't be done at the palace? She didn't know, but she followed them anyway.

* * *

Ryss teleported back to the palace. She stood in the lab, happily thinking that she had saved the princess from a permanently altering fate. However, her feeling of victory vanished when she saw that the bio preservation container – the one that had previously held the cat – was now empty. She was too late. The girl had already been changed.

Ryss brought her palm to her forehead in shock and dismay. She wasn't upset long. A flash of green hair and golden eyes quickly ended her life. Kisshu watched Ryss fall to the floor, dead. Axle would be upset, but the prince didn't care. This woman had stolen what was his. She had taken his mate and very special pet, and had just set it free. He had vowed death on the one who would take Eliza away from him. And now, he would fulfill that vow.

* * *

By morning, Eliza finally understood. They weren't going back to the palace. "Lizzie," she turned to her friend, "what happened?"

Lizzie smiled, "We were rescued by my friend Gabe and his little sister."

"Rescued?" Eliza asked in confusion.

"Yes, rescued!" Lizzie laughed in exhilaration. "And we are never going back again. Don't you see, Eliza? He can never hurt you again."

For a moment, just a small instant, Eliza was sad. She had finally become content with her circumstances, only to have them change again.

But then, it dawned on her like the morning sun that was pushing its way over the horizon. She no longer had to be content with her circumstances. She no longer had to endure the things that had been forced upon her for the past week – the past year, even! Finally, a little over a year after the day that she was first captured, she was no longer a slave. She was free again! The elation that came with this realization sent her heart beating rapidly from the sheer joy of it. Emotionally, she threw her arms around her brunette friend and exclaimed, "Lizzie!"

The other girl exclaimed as well. "Eliza!" But this outburst was one of shock and fear.

"What?" Eliza asked in concern. Lizzie was staring at the top of her head. Eliza turned and noticed that their other traveling companions also stared at her, open-mouthed. "What's wrong?" Eliza asked. Then, she looked down and saw a black, furry tail. Her eyes widened in fear. "What? What is this?" She released Lizzie and spun around in confusion.

"Y- You have ears too," Lizzie told her.

"What?" Eliza stopped spinning and felt the top of her head. More fur.

"The Cyniclon woman told us about this," Gabe muttered.

Eliza stopped feeling her ears and stared at him. "Ryss?"

"She said that the prince sought to alter your very DNA," Chastity explained. "She wanted to prevent it. That's why she helped us."

"I guess she was too late," Gabe added.

"Kisshu did this?" Eliza wondered aloud. She knew that the answer was "yes", but she didn't want to accept it. _"Was it all a lie? When he said that he really wanted to get to know me, was he still using me to replace _her_?"_ The tears began to fall silently. _"I never should have trusted him. He's a Cyniclon. They're all horrible and bad and care for no one but themselves. And he's the prince! His entire reputation is his self-centeredness. I was such a fool to believe him even for a day- an hour – a second! I'm glad that I was taken away from there, from him."_

Then, with horrible suddenness, she remembered his words from yesterday morning. _"'So no one should try to steal you from me, or they will suffer the consequences.'"_

"Oh no!" she screeched in horror. Eliza's tears flowed faster, as they were no longer for herself. Lizzie and her friends were in jeopardy now. Kisshu wouldn't forgive them. He would seek revenge. "Run! Run! You must leave me behind!" She wailed. "He won't let you leave with me. He'll kill you! He'll kill you all!"

"Eliza," Lizzie began, "are you insane? There is no way that I'm leaving you behind. I know what he did to you every night. You told me. And you think that I'd leave you to endure that? Not a chance!"

"You're asking me if _I'm_ insane?" Eliza stared at her friend with panicked eyes. "Do you _want_ to die?"

"As if I could live with myself knowing what he'll do to you: the very thing I could have stopped him from doing during this moment?" Lizzie shot back.

"And what about me? I won't be able to live with myself knowing that it was my fault that you were killed! Lizzie, please, I have enough horrible nightmares filled with people dying as things are. My life is darker than death as it is! Don't make it worse!"

While the two Elizabeths were arguing, Gabe was preparing for an inevitable fight. He bent over and slipped off his pants. After that, he tore off his shirt. His little sister stared at him while he did this. Her eyes widened at the sight. _"When I told him to hide his weapons, I had no idea how many were already hidden. When did he get that storage unit? He didn't have any of that a week ago! He must have bought it while I was asleep or something."_

"Ladies," Gabe stopped their argument. "No one is going to get taken back to the palace, and no one is going to die. Well, except for maybe the b*st*rd who killed my parents."

Lizzie and Eliza stared at him as he stood there in nothing but his underwear and his boots, strapped with the most intricate under-clothing weapons storage unit that they had ever seen. (For Eliza, it was the first she had ever seen.) Leather pockets of arrows were strapped onto his thighs. Knife-holding garters ran around his calves. Containers of ninja stars were secured onto his biceps. More knives were attached to leather straps that formed an X over his well-toned chest, and on his back were strapped two swords. From one forearm he retrieved a collapsible bow. The other contained a collapsible spear.

He prepared the bow for use and handed it to Lizzie. He also took one of the containers of arrows off of his thigh and handed it to her as well. "I've got a score to settle with Kisshu." He didn't bother using the title this time. "He's the reason my parents are dead. He's the reason that I lost my sister for the better part of a year. And he's the reason why I just spent the last week and a half trying to find you, Lizzie." Gabe paused for a moment before adding, "He's also the reason why I'll never be able to eat Cheetos again." Pulling the collapsible spear from its compartment on his left forearm, he extended it into its ready-to-use form. "I have a score to settle with Kisshu, and I can think of no better time than now to do it."

* * *

**Author: The big climax is coming up! Be ready for the next chapter. I apologize that this one was kind of short, but the tension was too strong for me to add more. Get ready everyone. The battle that I promised is near.**


	14. A Prince and a Wild

**Author: On this Election Day, the polls are closed. I only got two votes, and they were both for the same character, so without further moratorium…**

* * *

A middle-aged man with dark brown hair and matching eyes ran through the forest. He had been in New York City on that the day: the day that the world had turned upside down. New York City didn't exist anymore. Its new name was Deep Blue City. This was the city from which the man had fled. It had been getting harder and harder to hide within the ruins of skyscrapers, so he left and went south.

He had finally reached the former capitol of America. What used to be D.C.: the District of Columbia was now D.C.: the District of Cynclonia. The man knew that now he would have to head west. He cursed his stupid company that had sent him on a business trip that fateful week. He didn't even know if his wife and daughter were still alive.

* * *

Gabe led the girls away from the trees and to a clearing. He told Lizzie and Chastity to stay in the bushes at the edge of the forest. "Lizzie, in case something goes wrong, use your bow." Then, Gabe walked out into the meadow with Eliza close behind him.

* * *

Kisshu was enraged. He went to his closet and stripped himself of his royal robes, pulling out the warrior attire that he had thought he would never don again. He put on the clothing he had worn during his takeover of Earth. He focused on Eliza, picturing her face in his mind. This was his destination. Then, he teleported.

* * *

He appeared in a clearing that was surrounded by trees on all sides. And there, only about twenty feet before him, stood his special Eliza. Her cat ears and tail had come out. She looked lovely. But what was this? She was with another man! "Dragon Swords!" he summoned.

Gabe's head shot up, and he quickly pushed Eliza to the ground behind him. "If you want her, you have to go through me!"

"You fool!" Kisshu growled. "You're asking for your own death. Are you aware of that?"

"You murdered my parents!" Gabe exclaimed.

Kisshu cocked his head to the side. "Did I? I don't remember how many humans I've killed. It doesn't matter. It isn't important."

Hearing this, Gabe roared and rushed at Kisshu with his spear. But Kisshu teleported behind Gabe and stabbed him in the back. Gabe's scream echoed throughout the forest, and both Lizzie and Chastity had to bite their tongues to keep from screaming with him. Gabe wrenched himself from Kisshu's sword and spun around, the world seeming blurry. He aimed his spear for Kisshu's throat and entirely missed his target. Kisshu cursed as the sharp weapon punctured his shoulder. Gabe pulled out the weapon and tried again, the blurriness of his vision ebbing with the pain. This time, Kisshu teleported right as Gabe lunged forward. Gabe stumbled and the spear ended up stabbing the ground, quickly getting stuck in the spring mire. Gabe stood up without the spear and selected a knife from his chest strap.

Turning around, Gabe's golden hair gleamed in the sunlight. "Today," Gabe said, "you die like they died!" He surged forward and his knife clipped Kisshu on the forearm, but the Cyniclon's sword cut off Gabe's left ear. The two fighters glared as their bodies passed one another. Kisshu whirled in the air and managed to stab Gabe in the thigh. Gabe swore as the fiery sensation ripped through his flesh.

* * *

Chastity sat in the bushes in horror. She had already lost her brother once. She wasn't going to lose him again. She pulled from her pocket the Faze-Gun that she had taken from the officer in D.C. She aimed well, and fired.

* * *

A pulse of energy hit Kisshu dead in the chest. His body convulsed and he fell to the ground. As he stood up, he tried to fly or teleport, but a Faze-Gun was designed to interfere with a Cyniclon's bodily systems. The advantage he had had over Gabe was gone now. Teleporting and flying were no longer options.

Gabe rushed at him with a shout. Kisshu, still shocked from the deprivation of his abilities, was unable to dodge him completely. Gabe's knife dug deeply into Kisshu's bicep, and the Cyniclon bellowed in agony.

* * *

The man who was rushing through the forest near D.C. heard a scream. Then there was another. It sounded like someone was in pain. _"I don't know who it is, but I should try to help. Maybe, if I help this stranger, someone else somewhere will help a stranger. And the stranger they help might be my family."_ So thinking, the man raced toward the sound. He knew that it was a big risk. He was past the age for those who the Cyniclons allowed to live. If this wounded person was an alien, he would be killed on the spot. As the sound grew louder, he slowed. He would approach this situation carefully. He came upon a clearing in the woods and kneeled down in the bushes. As he stared out at the scene before him, he could not believe his eyes.

* * *

Kisshu, angered by Gabe's actions, grabbed Gabe's knife-wielding hand and bit. Gabe wrenched his hand away in shock, twirling his wrist as he did so. The blade of the knife sliced Kisshu's left eye as it passed. Kisshu howled in pain.

* * *

Eliza had been sitting, stunned, on the ground. This howl brought her back to her senses. She ran for the tree line on the opposite side of the clearing from Lizzie and Chastity, not wanting to draw Kisshu's attention to them. Having no desire to get hit by a stray weapon, Eliza ducked into the bushes. Suddenly, she was face-to-face with a strange man.

"Mew Ichigo," the man murmured, awestruck. "We all thought that you had died."

The cat-eared girl that had just come into the bushes wiped tears from her eyes and whimpered. "I'm not Ichigo. I'm Elizabeth."

"Oh," the man was suddenly moved for this girl, and he knew why. "My daughter's name is Elizabeth."

* * *

It was a strange morning, Lizzie thought. It seemed too dark. The sun had recently risen, but was now shrouded behind dark, grey clouds. Lizzie watched as the sky burst into a torrent of rain. She stifled a gasp. She didn't want the prince to know where she was, lest she be used as a hostage. She readied her bow, preparing for the worst. If Gabe lost this fight, she would send an unforgiving arrow straight into Kisshu's heart.

* * *

Kisshu clenched his bleeding eye shut. He could no longer see straight in order to aim well. The rain fell and caused the already damp spring ground to turn into mud. The Cyniclon was used to flying rather than walking – at least during battle – and the newly slick surface made keeping his footing difficult.

Gabe was ready, digging his feet into the sticky mud to find his footing on the ground beneath that had not yet been touched by the rain. He had rushed a good distance from his opponent, and now pulled out his ninja stars and began hurling them at the alien.

Kisshu tried to evade the sharp projectiles, but with his vision skewed, it was difficult. One of the blades sliced through his left ear, producing a searing pain, as a Cyniclon's ears are incredibly sensitive. In his efforts to dodge them, Kisshu slipped and fell into the mud.

"That's it!" he growled. "I've played fair up until now, human. But fair can f*ck it for all I care now!" So saying, he raised his hand and aimed it at Gabe. Pure power rushed out of his palm and enveloped the human boy. Ripples of energy began to suck the human boy's spirit from his body. Gabe briefly screamed in pain before slipping into unconsciousness.

"No!" Lizzie shouted, standing up. She aimed her weapon… and fired.

The well-aimed arrow plunged straight into Kisshu's chest, stopping his heart and stopping Gabe's spirit from being stolen. The alien prince fell backwards into the mud, dead.

"Gabe!" Chastity ran to her brother's side. She placed his head in her lap and touched his neck, checking for a pulse. The rain fell down and washed the blood from his face. "Gabe!" Chastity screamed frantically. Her brother opened his eyes. She hugged him. "Thank God, you're alright!"

"Eliza!" Lizzie shouted. "Eliza!"

"Lizzie!" Eliza stood up, and the strange man stood with her.

The man widened his eyes at the sight of Lizzie. "Elizabeth? Elizabeth!" He ran toward her, hopeful and disbelieving and ecstatic all at once, arms wide open.

"Dad?" Lizzie couldn't believe her eyes either. "Daddy!" she squealed. She threw down her bow and ran into his outstretched arms. "Oh, Daddy, you're alive!"

"My little Lizzie," her father didn't bother to restrain the tears that flowed down his face. "I'm so glad that you're safe."

Eliza walked over to where Kisshu lay dead on the ground. She couldn't explain it, but she actually felt sad. After all that he had done to her, she couldn't help but feel something for him. He had been her first love, even if it was in such a twisted meaning of the word. She began to cry. Then, she leaned forward and gave him one last kiss. "You horrible b*st*rd…" she murmured. "You made me love you."

Lizzie, seeming to remember something, walked out of her father's embrace and over to Eliza. "Hey," she said. Eliza looked up at her. "Technically speaking, he was your husband," Lizzie told her. "And the two of you had no children; that makes you the heir, Princess."

Eliza nodded slowly. "I guess it does…" she said softly. She turned back to Kisshu and shut his eyelids. As she did, she noticed that the mate mark on his left eyelid had been cut in half. The "love" was destroyed. And the rain continued to fall.


	15. Conclusion

_Five months later…_

* * *

Lizzie, her father, Chastity, and Gabe had moved back to region from which they had come. Gabe had finally healed from the battle. He finally confessed his love to Lizzie, who happily accepted his heart. Lizzie's father had found the dogs that had been missing. Beth, Kipper and Nana were still alive. Chastity was happily reunited with her grandmother, and all was well in the Wild camp.

Today, in the midst of autumn, Lizzie went with Gabe and her father to collect the early caches of nuts that squirrels had been ferreting away. Gabe walked by her side while Nana, Beth and Kipper danced at her feet. From somewhere behind them, her father's voice drifted through the trees. Lizzie stopped suddenly. She… remembered this. At the palace, she had dreamed about this as she had slept one night. It had been her only pleasant dream. And it had come true.

* * *

Eliza sat on the throne and put a hand on her swollen belly. It hadn't been easy, claiming the throne. None of Kisshu's subjects had known about his mate, save those who had worked in the palace. Eliza was called a fraud, even after she had shown them the mate marks that matched Kisshu's, as per his request. For such a "crime", she was sentenced to death by spirit removal.

She had been brought up to what used to be the Lincoln Memorial; the presidential statue sat decapitated on his monumental chair. Eliza stood at the base of this chair, the whole of D.C. standing below and hovering around in the air, watching the execution of the human girl who had dared lay claim to the throne. Pai had been called from his sector, and was here to perform the act of taking the girl's spirit. But when the purple-haired alien had stretched out his hand to suck the life from the girl, the response to the pulsating energy had been that of two spirits. Shocked, Pai had stopped the execution.

And thus, it was discovered that Eliza was pregnant. And when the paternity test of the child in her womb proved that the baby was indeed Kisshu's, no Cyniclon could deny that Eliza had been their prince's mate.

Pai had spoken to her then. "When I saw you, I was sure that your claims were true. You looked exactly like Mew Ichigo. I knew my brother well enough to know that he would stoop as low as force-mating a human. I have never understood his fascination with you lower creatures. However, your claims are valid. Even so, you would not survive if it weren't for the child. When he is born, you will remain Princess until he comes of age. When that happens, he will assume the throne and you will be executed. We will not be lenient towards humans. You are nothing to us." After saying that, he had vanished, returning to his sector.

Now, sitting on her throne, Eliza had no fears for her days to come. She was sure that whenever the child was born and raised, that he would no doubt defend his mother. He would be Prince, and thus rule his own sector however he chose. She would make sure that this child always knew that he was loved. She would never let the prejudices of this world touch him. Her son would be brought up to respect both halves of himself. And then maybe, just maybe, when the time came, he would reign with a gentle hand, and there would finally be a place of peace for humans on Earth again. Her hope, her dream, her prayer was that no one under her son's rule would ever live a life darker than death.

~The End~

* * *

**Author: I hope that no one is mad at me for killing Kisshu. It's what the readers voted, after all. And I made sure that a part of him would live on. For those of you who see his death as tragic, please be comforted by this small piece of him that grows in Eliza's womb. For those of you his see his death as deserved punishment, consider the baby a hopeful renewal for human life on Earth. Thank you all for reading this. I wish you a day Lighter Than Life. Sayonara.**


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